Gumbo: A Celebration of African American Writing

The ingredients in this gumbo are truly varied. It has literary heavy-hitters like Edward P. Jones, Edwidge Danticat and John Edgar Wideman; new jacks like Dana Crum, David Wright and R. Erica Doyle; and popular/contemporary/genre writers like E. Lynn Harris, Tananarive Due and Connie Briscoe. I really enjoyed "My Heavenly Father" by Dana Crum. Told in a nonstandard Southern dialect that simply leaps off the page, set in a Baptist church that is brought fully to life, the story is about a young boy who misses his absent father. Sometimes the story breaks your heart. Sometimes it makes you laugh. At all times, it avoids cliches. William Henry Lewis' "Rossonian Days" is innovative. Edward P. Jones' "An Orange Line Train to Ballston" is splendid. This anthology is well worth the money.

This is an outstanding collection of stories by a wide variety of authors. There is something for every taste. Gumbo is a great introduction to a lot of new writers. Definitely a savory dish!

I love to read books about people like me and I love short stories...this book put both into one and introduced me to a variety of writers I didn't know about along with ones I already did. I ended up buying a couple more books because the short story was so interesting (ex. Douglass Women & Ain't nobody's business if I do). It's a very good source for writers to show off and I thoroughly enjoyed it and tried to roll with the WHOLE book page by page.

Finally the collection we've all been waiting for! There's something here for everyone, from the usual to the bizarre;I personally like oddities myself, so I truly loved the last part of the book, where nuts are everywhere (read Fear of Floating and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about). Anyway, as you can see I'm not a writer or a critic, but I know what a like, and I really liked "Gumbo", and I'm sure you will too. E. Lynn Harris does it again!

Editors Marita Golden and E Lynn Harris introduce us to a concoction of witty, soulful, provincial, urban, thrilling, and stunning works by some of the most talented African American authors on the planet. Pronounced a literary rent party benefiting the Hurston-Wright Foundation, Gumbo is divided into 4 sections spanning everything from the "Family Tree" to a "Love Jones". Numerous affecting short stories and excerpts contribute to this amazingly filling collection.Witty stories like Yolanda Joe's Miss Prissy and the Penitentiary and Harris' Dinner Party modulate the emotions invoked by pieces such as David Anthony Durham's "The Boy-Fish" and acclaimed horror author Tananarive Due's "The Knowing", my personal favorite. Other notables include J. California Cooper's "$100 and Nothing", Tayari Jones' "Press and Curl", Faith Adiele's "Fire: An Original Tale", Elizabeth Nunez's excerpt "from Discretion", and Alexs Pate's "To Haiti or To Hell." There is truly something for everyone in this abounding congregation of African American authors coming together for a cause.~Reviewed by CandaceK