A Woman's Place

by Marita Golden

It is 1968 and everything about being a Black woman in America is changing. A society once walled off has begun opening doors. Against this backdrop, three young women meet at a New England college and form a friendship that endures, heals, and dramatically shapes their lives.

With backgrounds and temperaments symbolic of the many questions around attaining selfhood in the aftermath of freedom movements, Faith, Crystal and Serena struggle to exercise personal agency in an era when family history, along with race and gender identities, threaten to dictate their paths. As a poet-creative Crystal reaches for expression in language and in choosing who and how she loves. As a budding activist, Serena eschews conventions of marriage, and belonging, to become a global being, leaving the soil of America for Africa, where NGO work evolves into leading women toward an independence she herself maintains by remaining the mistress, never the bride, of a powerful man. Surprisingly, it is Faith, the most introverted, drawn into the self by a series of traumas, whose seemingly self-limiting choices will more directly affect a generation of women to come.

The Philadelphia Tribune declared it, “a story of hope, a story of triumph and, above all, a testimony to resilience.” Published in 1986 after the award-winning autobiography Migrations of the Heart, A Woman’s Place is Marita Golden ’s first novel. More than fourteen books in fiction and nonfiction, including An Anthology of African-American Writing co-edited with E. Lynn Harris, followed. Golden went on to create and helm the Hurston/Wright Foundation, which has become a literary rite of passage for such talents as Nicole Dennis-Benn, Brit Bennett and Tayari Jones.

A Woman’s Place is reprinted here as an esteemed addition to McSweeney’s Of the Diaspora series, edited by Erica Vital-Lazare , and opens with a new introduction by the author, with foreword by Women’s March co-founder Tabitha St. Bernard-Jacobs .

Genres: Fiction

329 pages, Hardcover

First published July 15, 1986

About the author

Marita Golden (born April 28, 1950) is an award-winning novelist, nonfiction writer, distinguished teacher of writing and co-founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, a national organization that serves as a resource center for African-American writers.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Ann Korte · Rating 1 out of 5]

I no longer care if the women find their places.

[Sophie Kressy ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very good. I liked that the main characters were idealistic but flawed, like most young women are. Self-discovery within a constraining system.

[Book.Wormette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! The main characters were diverse and unique individuals: poet, social activist, and mother. I admired their friendship, and their individual growth and challenges. I like that each chapter is the experiences and thoughts of individual characters; it was a unique and enjoyable point of view change from the traditional narrative point of view. The novel is a short, only 240 pages, enjoyable and quick read. If you love reading about women of color and their navigation through the world, then I think you'll love this story.

[Erriel Roberson]

Great book. I read this many years ago.

[Tineka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how the three main characters were focused on making the lives they wanted.

[Esraa Gamal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been avoiding this book for over a year because, every time I picked it and read the back cover, I'd think "well, nothing new, just the same old story about 3 friends and the challenges they have to face through life"
However, it turned out better than I thought. I found a little bit of myself in all the characters and that was the interesting part for me. Faith's search for peace, Crystal's contemplative nature and her passion for words, and Serena's enthusiasm. The author moves with ease from one character to the other. Also, the manner in which each character spoke matched their role perfectly and made them easier to imagine.

The only thing I didn't like about book was the character of Rasheed, Aisha's husband. I think it was the stereotypical misrepresentation of Muslim husbands. Just like the media, I think the book denounced Islam when it symbolized it through Rasheed's actions. And honestly I'm tired of this image and it needs to stop. Since it's repeated every day in all sorts of media, that Muslim men are barbaric, uncivilized creatures, the first thing that comes to people's minds when they hear the word Islam is "abuse". However, the purpose of Islam is completely far from that. Islam is all about peace. And that idea needs to be adopted and spread through the media so that people can know the real aims behind Islam.

[Amy Gourley · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the back cover, I wasn't sure if I was going to stick with this book. Another book about friends (3 in this case) going through ups and downs of life and I am getting tired of those kind of books. Each "chapter" is told in first person from the 3 women in this book plus some others.