Shaking the Tree: A Collection of New Fiction and Memoir by Black Women (Edited by Mari Nana-Ama Danquah)

“Not since Breaking Ice has an anthology so freed the spirits of African American women.”—Ai

Library Journal

There is a common thread that connects these mostly memorable selections. All of the voices are young, writing primarily about relationships: between a wife and her imprisoned husband; a sister and her jailed brother; interracial couples; a lesbian couple; a mother and her daughter; and more. These are not new stories as the subtitle implies but rather excerpts from larger works, with the exception of a personal essay by ZZ Packer called “The Stranger.” Among the gems are asha bandele”s “Home,” with her thoughts on why she became a prisoner”s wife; Danquah”s memoir revealing her bout with depression; Dana Johnson”s “Markers,” an interesting tale involving a black woman living with an Italian man and their volatile life together; Lisa Jones”s autobiographical essay on her trip to the Bahamas and her discovery regarding color, class, and race; Catherine E. McKinley”s piece on growing up biracial with her Scotch-Irish adoptive parents; Itabari Njeri”s obsession with and love for a hopeless womanizer and how she got revenge when he broke her heart; and Shay Youngblood”s novel about a black woman living in Paris as an au pair and falling in love with a white musician. Though admirable, with some excellent contributions, this anthology would have soared with more original material. Recommended for most public libraries.-Ann Burns, “Library Journal” Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.