The Complete Stories

by Alice Walker

'Stories are, after all, like a thumbprint. Unique to the soul and heart they are by creation attached' Comprising two volumes - In Love and Trouble and You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down - The Complete Stories is a rich smorgasbord of tales that showcase three decades of the author's work. They show the immense range of Alice Walker's talent, from humour to stories of love, race and politics, reaffirming her position as one of the most important writers of the past 50 years.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Feminism, American

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 1994

About the author

Noted American writer Alice Walker won a Pulitzer Prize for her stance against racism and sexism in such novels as The Color Purple (1982).

People awarded this preeminent author of stories, essays, and poetry of the United States. In 1983, this first African woman for fiction also received the national book award. Her other books include The Third Life of Grange Copeland , Meridian , The Temple of My Familiar , and Possessing the Secret of Joy . In public life, Walker worked to address problems of injustice, inequality, and poverty as an activist, teacher, and public intellectual.

Reviews

[Zanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walker's stories dismantle patriarchy and racism with deep compassion and the will to freedom and self-actualisation. And eye rolling. At times, they seem to shade beyond fiction into theory and critique.

I found this collection impossible to put down, compelled as much by the alluring physicality and sensuousness of Walker's prose as by her heartfelt, fiercely intellectual grappling with the issues she takes up. The second half, You can't keep a good woman down was the more enjoyable and thought-provoking for me.

[Christel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5*

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book includes two collections of short stories: "In Love and Trouble" and "You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down." The author herself, in a short preface, comments on the difference between the two. The first collection is filled with women more or less trapped in the south for the duration of their lives; the second book has younger women who move away from the south or move there to work or volunteer during the summer of 1965. The second book is also more autobiographical and based on Alice Walker’s experiences.

The writing style changes for each story, using different types of narrative: letters, diary entries, conversations, flashbacks, inner monologues. Each story felt heavy and I usually put the book down after finishing each one. She explores so many aspects of race and racism, including a light skinned black girl eventually choosing to be white instead, something we see in “The Vanishing Half” by Brit Brenner.

Out of all 27 or so stories, there were only a few that I didn’t enjoy as much as the rest. Each one felt very, very different - even though the focus is always on black women in America - and her writing is excellent.

[Arielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

2019 Reading Challenge - Two books that share the same title (2) The Complete Stories - Alice Walker

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naff.

Sorry.

[Shandin Rickard-Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible, insightful, intensely powerful short stories about what it is to be black, what it is to be a woman, what it is to be a black woman, and in a bigger sense, what it is to be human. You can sense Alice testing the boundaries of how/whether to write on certain topics close to but covered up by society. Some of the stories really stuck with me, and made me sit and reflect on my own position in the world and within my culture. Brilliant! I will be picking up her other works!

[Jenna Heller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of these stories really captured me but mostly, I found myself just wanting to finish them. To me, some seemed too contrived. I think I like my stories a bit more organic in nature.