The Matter Is Life

by J. California Cooper

A fourth collection of stories by the award-winning author.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, African American, Literature

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

J. California Cooper first found acclaim as a playwright. The author of seventeen plays, she was named Black Playwright of the Year in 1978. It was through her work in the theater that she caught the attention of acclaimed poet and novelist Alice Walker. Encouraged by Walker to turn her popular storytelling skills to fiction, Cooper wrote her first collection of short stories, A Piece of Mine, in 1984. Called "rich in wisdom and insight" and "a book that's worth reading," A Piece of Mine introduced Cooper's trademark style: her intimate and energetic narration, sympathetic yet sometimes troubled characters, and the profound moral messages that underlie seemingly simple stories. Two more story collections followed on the heels of A Piece of Mine. In 1986 came Homemade Love, winner of an American Book Award, and, in 1987, Some Soul to Keep.

Reviews

[Deborah Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

All her books are excellent. I love the way she develops relationships in the books. The characters are full bodied and realistic. Not just cut and dried romance. You always learn something from Ms. Coopers stories.

[T.L. Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Matter is Life by J. California Cooper took me by surprise. I felt off-center as I began to read. Cooper uses language and grammar to give her characters voice and individuality. She writes stories that delve into the dirty aspects of life with an intense and uncomfortable honesty. Cooper writes life without dressing it up in frills and lace. Cooper addresses myriad topics from religion to drug use to family dynamics in this book of short stories. She delves into the way humans interact with one another as well as with themselves. She lets life's tatters and tears show. She creates raw and gritty characters in stories that feel all too real. The Matter is Life pushes the reader to think about why life matters and how to better embrace the what matters in life.

[Sonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors/poets since college.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Amazing collection of short stories. A brilliance that catches you off guard; searing honesty in every story, like listening in to "ol' folks" talking about the way life was, is, and will be. Written in the vernacular of a time and place few of us can claim intimate knowledge of, but delivered in a way that leaves you enthralled and enlightened.

This is writing at its finest. How have I overlooked Ms. Cooper all these years? Lesson learned, I have some catching up to do.

[Veronica Bohanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite author! I love everything she writes!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of eight short stories about the lives of a handful of African-American characters by Cooper. I'm not sure how Cooper never crossed my radar before now. I think that her stories would be very accessible for high school students, and the bonus is that many of them serve as a very strong warnings against making bad choices in life. In these stories, one of the moral themes seems to be about the consequences of vanity and greed. The characters who care only about image and status fall hard, and the characters who live steady lives of hard work and romantic fidelity end up the winners.

What's most interesting about Cooper's writing is the voice in these stories. It feels like the beginning of each story starts when the narrator has set a big piece of cake or pie in front of you with a big cup of coffee, and then, as you're digging in, she starts to say, "Did you ever hear about so-and-so? Let me tell you her/his story..." and off you go. The writing has a very conversational feel, but what's even more interesting is that if these stories were read aloud and not read with the print visible, there would be a layer of meaning missing. There is a strong connection in Cooper's writing between how the word appears on the page and how it sounds spoken. In one story, Cooper even inserts musical notations into the middle of sentences.

Of all the stories, my two favorites were "How, Why to Get Rich" about three kids who try their hand working as day laborers in the field only to discover the brutal back-breaking work that farm work is, and "The Doras" which is the story about a young orphan girl, Dora, who takes her destiny into her own hands and tries to make the lives of her daughters better than her own. I liked this story best, actually, because the narrator plays more of a role in this story beyond simply telling the story. We see how the story of Dora and her daughters affects the narrator's own choices in her life regarding her marriage and her children. It felt less contrived, and it felt like there was more of a purpose for the narrator's presence.

[Shanda]

This is my life, my decisions or indecisions affect me

[I Be Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

J. California Cooper is the master. Period.

[Jazalyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a collection of short and not so short stories, seemingly disjointed. I only liked the first one, which is from the perspective of an elderly lady being taken care of by her family. Gave me an appreciation for what elderly people might be thinking. Other than that, i didn't like the first person perspective looking at someone else's life. And the dialect that the author used was not effective and distracting. And some of the stories were a bit redundant.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very much the front porch gossip of your grandmothers, great grandmothers, or before. Each has a narrator and the actual subject of the tale. Most deal with ideas of what are success, freedom, and fun. Overall, they read as cautionary tales.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. This is one of my favorite writers because her characters are always so fully developed.

[Stacy-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

J. California Cooper has done a great job on this book. This is a short fiction stories which in tales 8 different titles about simple people who love too little and too late and about those who work and struggle against a difficult and often hostile environment. There was 3 stories that stands out for me ' Evergreen Grass,Vanity and No Lie' and throughout these stories it tends to have a strong importance about TIME.

All 8 stories was great and strong also right to the point. No matter what happen in life we have to deal with it in the best way we can.

This is a great book to read for the start of the new year.

[Marilyn]

Outstanding collection of short stories by one of my favorite authors - J. California Cooper. Highly recommend: "Friends, Anyone?," "Vanity," and "The Doras" out of this collection.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to follow...memorable characters...back drops you can imagine...definitely feel good books you quickly fall in love with!

[Demetrice Enis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Builds character

[Angee Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice chapter book as my children would say.
The different characters were so intense.
Clean & Concise story-lines made for a great read.

[Beverlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!! I enjoyed these stories because it's the perfect combination of simplicity & lesson(s) to learn.

[Shell (booksbythecup) · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you feel about short stories? Are they a regular part of your reading or do you find that after you read them you feel like the story is incomplete?
I remember thinking in the past when I tried short stories they felt unfinished since I had become accustomed to reading a complete book. But there has been one author who had consistently made me feel right at home, like my grandmother or wise older auntie has sat me down and left me with a few lessons on life. Because her age and life experience exceed my own and she can tell a story like no one else, I pull up a chair, grab a pot of tea (well maybe a pitcher of sweet tea for her) and I hunker down for what I know will be another treasured and cherished moment in our relationship.

That, in a nutshell, is how I feel after reading J. California Cooper. Everytime. Although it's been several years since I've read one of her novels or collections of stories, it's like we haven't missed a beat. We are picking up where we left off and for the life of me, I can't figure out how I can review those feelings. It just doesn't seem possible.

Overall, I didn't think I had much to say about a collection of short stories, but the feelings and emotions and the words, they just tumbled out. Reading JCC always makes me think of my dear friend who introduced me to this author many years ago. She was my best friend, more like a sister.

Full review here

https://booksbythecup.wordpress.com/2...

[Jada 📚☕️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

🧚🏾‍♀️🎊💕🧞‍♀️🎉 beautiful, wonderful, amazing stories that will stay with me. I loved 💜 all these stories I think my favs are the the Big Day about a woman in her 90s and nearing toward the end of her days having already learned lessons, then their is “How, Why to Get Rich about a young girl growing up and starting to learn some hard lessons (and I looooved that she put these two stories back to back so we see the juxtaposition between the two), Friend, Anyone had a satirical feel to it, Vanity was about vanity being vein and then we get the male version of it in “No Lie”. And “i told him” take heed from the people who love you, but some are gonna do what they want anyway And then u gotta do what’s best for you bc u tried! The Doras ohh it made me tired for Dora reading it but you will do everything for your kids
I named them all still didn’t say my favs: 💕 probably the Big Day, how, why you get rich (I had a big dose of reality just like that little girl) friends, anyone? The Doras, and Evergreen grass! About not being envious of other people bc u don’t know what’s really going on with them!

[Ellice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Some Soul to Keep by J. California Cooper, and while I found it enjoyable, I didn’t seem to enjoy it nearly as much as many other reviewers. I wanted to give Cooper another chance, and I’m glad I did. I enjoyed this book of short stories, though there was a certain sameness in theme across the stories—all about Black women facing serious traumas in their lives. Still, there was enough joy and ebullience and energy in each story to keep them interesting. I’ll definitely check out more of Cooper’s books.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was loving it at first but when I got to "Vanity" & "I Told Him!" I found myself disturbed at the junction of what I imagine is the tone of the entire collection & stories of the downward spiral of drug use and domestic violence. The tone is just too light and almost dismissive for those kinds of subjects and such a tone with DV is a particular hard limit for me. Did I not read the summary well enough to know what I was getting?

If you're thinking of reading, the style is not bad. In fact, I quite enjoy stories written in this tone. Just know there are some dark themes here ...

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I have read by J. California Cooper and I was thoroughly pleased. This is a collection of short stories, full of truth, that's hard to put down. My favorite was Dora. You will be taken through lots of emotions from joy to sadness and the realization life doesn't always turn out as we planned. We must also be wary because it is in our most vulnerable moments that we have the potential to make the biggest mistakes.

[Stefen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5- stars.

If you read the Dora story, you can mark the book 'read'. It's an impressive ending, but it kinda can't lift up all the remaining 7. The motif is repetitive. The flow is the same. The narrators stay old. The language sounds forced and unnatural at some points - I mean the accent, the way Cooper deliberately makes grammatical mistakes to describe characters' "Africaness".

In fact, I forgot what some stories are about already!

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cooper writes each of these short stories, all centered around small town life in the South, all in 1st person. What stands out is how true the voice of the narrator feels -- whether it is an 8 year old girl or a 90 year old woman. There is a lot of spirit and life in these stories about everyday living.

[Kiarag · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short stories in this book are engaging and gives you pause and the end. J California Cooper creates multi faced characters and tells stories about love, drugs, family, money and other superficial things we think we need in life. This is a perfect book for book clubs or at night while sipping wine and just enjoying and being grateful for the life we have.

[BernieMck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a couple of this author’s writings and I have loved them all. This short storey collection was just as wonderful. The characters are so interesting and there is so much to digest in each storey. I recommend this book by J California Cooper.

[Tony Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Matter Is Life is exactly what the title says. Short stories based on life experiences. The stories will make you laugh, cry, shout and more. Good fast read that will make you wanting more. So grab one of J California Cooper’s other books.

[Mic C · Rating 4 out of 5]

some interesting stories.. old and modern mixed Vanity story hit me the hardest..still with me

[Malaika · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will not be able to put this book down. It’s like sitting at the elders’ feet and learning life lessons.

[Essence Cropper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally enjoy books with short stories, but I really enjoyed this one.