Read Women discussion

Beginning June 10th, MAY 10th our author focus begins with the American author Ann Petry (October 12, 1908 – April 28, 1997). A writer of novels, short stories, children's books and journalism, her 1946 debut novel The Street became the first novel by an African-American woman to sell more than a million copies.

She began writing in high school, during which time a teacher told her that she could become a writer if she wanted, but her family had other ideas. She received a degree in Pharmacy in 1931 from the University of Connecticut College of Pharmacy (her father owned a Pharmacy) and did not publish her first short story until 1943.

In November 2018, Tayari Jones called for a revival of Petry's acclaim, writing that Petry "is the writer we have been waiting for, hers are the stories we need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment, while also offering a page-turning good time."

Standalone Novels
The Street (1946)
The Street tells the poignant, often heartbreaking story of Lutie Johnson, a young black woman, and her spirited struggle to raise her son amid the violence, poverty, and racial dissonance of Harlem in the late 1940s. Originally published in 1946 and hailed by critics as a masterwork, The Street was Ann Petry’s first novel, a beloved bestseller with more than a million copies in print. Its haunting tale still resonates today.

Country Place (1947)
A story that depicts a small and sleepy town in New England that is contending with all of the lies and indignities of American life.

Johnnie Roane came back after fighting for four years in World War II to be with his loving parents and Gloria, his beautiful wife. But he has doubts over whether Gloria was loyal to him. These doubts continue to grow as a hurricane is coming towards them in Lennox, Connecticut, a town that seems perfect. But a violence is waiting beneath the storm’s surface.

The Drugstore Cat (1949)
A little cat with a short temper tries to learn the difficult lesson of patience and self restraint.

The Narrows (1953)
When Link Williams, a college educated twenty six year old African American man, falls for Camilo Sheffield, a wealthy married white woman, things will never be the same in the sleepy New England town of Monmouth, Connecticut. Set in the 1950s, this unforgettable classic deftly evokes a tragic love affair and offers a window onto the powerful ways in which class, race, and love intersected in midcentury America.

Tituba of Salem Village (1964)
It is 1692, and there is strange talk in Salem Village. Talk of witches. Several girls have been taken with fits, and there is only one explanation: someone in the village has been doing the devil’s work. All eyes are on Tituba, the minister’s slave, and the one person who can tell fortunes with cards, and who can spin a thread so fine it must be magic.

Short Stories/Novellas
Checkup (2020)

Collections
Miss Muriel and Other Stories (1971)
A stunning collection of stories that captures a remarkably diverse panorama of African American experience in the 1950s and 1960s stories of ‘a small town pharmacist’s family, a New York nightclub drummer, a high school English teacher, a factory worker, a junk dealer, and a charmingly perceptive 12 year old’ - Christian Science Monitor.

Non-Fiction
Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad (1955)
After making her own escape, Harriet realized that her own freedom was not enough. So she became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and devoted her life to helping others make the journey out of bondage. An invisible threat to plantation owners, she served as a symbol of strength and inspiration for her people. She was the legendary ‘Moses,’ delivering hundreds from the desert of slavery.

I tried The Street a couple of years ago; it typically gets all the attention. I’d like to find copies of Tituba and the Harriett Tubman bio. What an interesting and diverse set of works to explore.

Unbelievably my local library has a copy of both of them. Both are written for "tweens and teens". I'm planning on reading at least Miss Muriel and Other Stories. But since I can get Tituba I will likely give that a shot as well. I am really interested in The Street, but have been steering away from 400+ page books lately unless I can get an ebook.

GailW wrote: "Unbelievably my local library has a copy of both of them. Both are written for "tweens and teens". I'm planning on reading at least Miss Muriel and Other Stories. But since I can g..."

The Narrows is 560 pages!! I’m glad I checked 😉

Miss Muriel does look interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing what various members try and like of these options.

Please note the amendment to message 1. The start date is MAY 10th, not June 10th. Apologies!!

Carol wrote: "I tried The Street a couple of years ago; it typically gets all the attention. I’d like to find copies of Tituba and the Harriett Tubman bio. What an interesting and diverse set of works to explore."

Me too, my library has both in ebook format. I've been wanting to read the Tituba one for a long time after reading Claire's raving review! I also got a cheap copy of the street but it does seem a little intimidating (in length) for my concentration capacity right now

I want to read The Narrows, but am unlikely to get to it this month, but will add my comments as and when.
I read The Street in 22, and it is such a good read, but you have to be in the right headspace. The book will give you all the feels - hope, frustration and hearbreak.

Sonia wrote: "I want to read The Narrows, but am unlikely to get to it this month, but will add my comments as and when.
I read The Street in 22, and it is such a good read, but you have to be in the right head..."

That's alright Sonia, each author focus will stay open for at least 8 weeks, longer if there's still momentum :)

Good to hear about the street. I will read this at some point, but only when the time is right as I want to do it justice

Oh and thank you Gail for the detailed blurb! There's a few here I hadn't heard of :)

I've started Tituba of Salem Village. It's really interesting, especially after getting some background info from our group read of How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women. I can tell the target audience is children, the language style is wuite simplistic. I feel like this is perhaps stopping me from connecting to the characters on a deeper level but it's still early days. I am keen to keep picking it back up so so good so far :)

I am going to start Miss Muriel and Other Stories later today if anyone else is interested.

I have read the first four and am loving this. Her writing style is not flowery. Her character development is some of the strongest I’ve seen in short stories. More to come!

GailW wrote: "I have read the first four and am loving this. Her writing style is not flowery. Her character development is some of the strongest I’ve seen in short stories. More to come!"

This is good to hear! I was just coming on to ask. I'm enjoying the story of Tituba but the character's still feel a little lacking. I think I'll read The Street next rather than another children's one

Hannah wrote: "...I'm enjoying the story of Tituba but the character's still feel a little lacking...."
Tituba was going to be my next one, but it isn't small. I picked up Country Place today and will change to that one next.

Tituba is quite a fast read actually, you'd probably do it in one sitting! The street and narrows are the chonkers I think :)

I have finished Miss Muriel and Other Stories and quite simply, I love this book and I highly recommend it. I will definitely be pursuing a few of her novels.

This is the first Ann Petry that I have ever read. I had never even heard of her until she was introduced in the nominations for Author Focus. I am sorry that I am finding her so late.

There are 13 short stories:
1. Miss Muriel
2. The New Mirror
3. Has Anybody Seen Dora Dean
4. The Migraine Workers
5. Mother Africa
6. The Bones of Louella Brown
7. Olaf and His Girl Friend
8. Like a Winding Sheet
9. The Witness
10. Solo on the Drums
11. The Necessary Knocking on the Door
12. In Darkness and Confusion
13. Doby’s Gone

The stories were written over decades, with settings from the 1940’s to the 1960’s. 1 thru 3 are interconnected, written in first person, with the same main character in all at different times in her life: pre-teen, teenager, middle-aged. They seem to me to be autofiction in nature as the family portrayed in the stories is very similar to Petry’s own family.

In each of the stories, the author focuses on the psychological impact of racism on African Americans in a powerful manner.
I think the author did us (me) a favor by placing the first three stories where she did, as they are a bit “lighter” in nature than the rest. I could provide a description of each of them but I found an excellent short article that provides a much better written explanation than I could possibly prepare. It does contain some spoilers, so I would recommend waiting to read it until after the book has been read.

The article can be found here: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starte...

GailW wrote: "I have finished Miss Muriel and Other Stories and quite simply, I love this book and I highly recommend it. I will definitely be pursuing a few of her novels.

This is the first Ann Petry that I h..."

This sounds really good Gail. Are the other stories related to the first 3 in any way? I do prefer when short story collections have some kind of link between the stories; even if it's only a small one

Something's been bugging me since I started the Tituba book. Right at the beginning, before Reverend Parris bought Tituba and her husband and took them to Boston and then Salem, they are slaves to a mistress in Barbados. They have a relatively good life there.....for slaves, but they are still slaves. They are described as being "very happy". The whole book is written in the third person but follows Tituba so it isn't the opinion of a particular character calling them "very happy". Does anyone else find this as inappropriate as I do? It just keeps bugging me. Their life was relatively comfortable yes, especially when compared with everything that comes afterwards but I think it's harmful, and dangerous even, to put into the heads of young minds (it is a children's book) that slaves, even if well treated, can be very happy. Am I being ignorant?

Hannah wrote: "Something's been bugging me since I started the Tituba book. Right at the beginning, before Reverend Parris bought Tituba and her husband and took them to Boston and then Salem, they are slaves to ..."

I'm not reading the book, but these statements would offend me for the reasons you state. I'm surprised bordering on shocked.

Carol wrote: "Hannah wrote: "Something's been bugging me since I started the Tituba book. ..."

I've decided to take a hard pass on Tituba and hope to be able to fit in Country Place instead.

I was very surprised too. For the most part I'm enjoying it and Claire gave it 5 stars so it might just be me! There's just these few little things that I struggle to let go of. It's a fascinating story though so it's a shame. I'm going to dodge the Tubman which was also written for children and try one of her adult books next.

A horrible thing was done to a dog and I'm done with Tituba. I just wanted to warn Carol in case she was still tempted to give this one a try..... Sorry to start off the author focus with such negativity but I have to be honest! I'll take a wee break so that I can start one of her adult novels with fresh eyes.

GailW wrote: "I have finished Miss Muriel and Other Stories and quite simply, I love this book and I highly recommend it. I will definitely be pursuing a few of her novels.

This is the first Ann Petry that I h..."

Sold. I'll get an ebook and make my way through this collection. Thanks for sharing these details as well as the article. Really grand.

Hannah wrote: "A horrible thing was done to a dog and I'm done with Tituba. I just wanted to warn Carol in case she was still tempted to give this one a try..... Sorry to start off the author focus with such nega..."

thank you, hannah. that would be the end of me this month : )

I wish I could get hold of an ebook of Miss Muriel but only the street and narrows seem to be available here. Same goes for audio. For reasons I'd rather not go into I'm currently unable to read print books. Bottom lip making a reappearance...

Hannah, maybe you knew this already, but I couldn't understand why I can get it in the states and you can't. So I googled it and got this response:
"You cannot buy the Kindle edition of Ann Petry’s Miss Muriel and Other Stories in England due to regional copyright restrictions and the lack of a UK-specific digital publishing license. The rights to publish this book digitally belong to US-based publishers (such as Mariner Books / HarperCollins), and they have not extended the eBook distribution rights to the UK. Because your Amazon account is registered in the UK, the Kindle store geoblocks the purchase to comply with international copyright laws.
To work around this, you can explore the following options: Alternative Retailers: Check other major digital platforms like Kobo UK or the Apple Books store, though regional rights often apply to these as well.
Buy a Physical Copy:
Borrow from a Library: Digital or physical copies may be available to borrow via local UK library services connected to the OverDrive/Libby app."

Weird that you can't buy it because of copyright constrictions but can possibly get it through a library as an eBook.

GailW wrote: "Hannah, maybe you knew this already, but I couldn't understand why I can get it in the states and you can't. So I googled it and got this response:
"You cannot buy the Kindle edition of Ann Petry’s..."

that’s bizarre. a big fail by whomever controls the estate’s rights.

Hannah wrote: "I wish I could get hold of an ebook of Miss Muriel but only the street and narrows seem to be available here. Same goes for audio. For reasons I'd rather not go into I'm currently unable to read pr..."

that bottom lip belongs prominently displayed. i empathize, given all the Brit-centric works I try to get my library to purchase and which they promptly decline. it’s even more frustrating when you can’t buy a work in the media you prefer. 🤔🤨

Yes, I'd figured it was a licencing issue I just don't get why they do this. I tried going on Amazon USA and all of those other retailers. I'm guessing this is why my library only have the children's ebooks by Petry. They must have been licenced here and are perhaps cheaper because of this. I know from experience that they wouldn't buy it if requested. It actually doesn't look as though they'd be allowed even. I'm tempted to try and reregister my Kobo as American but I'm worried I'd get stuck there and not be allowed home without a visa application! So silly