The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (2020) by Deesha Philyaw

1,001 Novels: A Library of America 

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (2020)

by Deesha Philyaw

Sugar Hill, Jacksonville, Florida

Florida: 17/21

  Deesha Philway has her first novel dropping in a couple months, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman, and it was cool to see The Secret Lives of Church Ladies on the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America.  Also, a very obvious pick given editor Susan Straight's predilections.

 

Published 1/18/21

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (2020)

by Deesha Philyaw

    The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was the last of the 2020 National Book Award finalists in the fiction category I was able to secure- the LA Public Library finally picked up the Audiobook version, though I certainly would have bought a copy if I'd seen it in a bookstore.  The publisher is West Virginia University Press, and I'm pretty sure I've never read another book from that imprint, and it makes me wonder why this obviously sharp collection of short stories about the lives of African American women in the rural/suburban America didn't pique more interest from an established publisher.

    It was an enjoyable listen- Philyaw has a sharp eye for domestic detail that reminded me of Alice Munro.  I look forward to future books from her, hopefully a novel, but there is no doubt that the National Book Award nomination will ensure that she has a greater choice of publishers for her next book.