Book Review: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

This year I´ve read more short stories collections than ever, and I am glad to finally have the chance to explore and better appreciate this genre. From a book and author to another, I discover how important is to balance good concise writing with a story that should develop within a relatively short amount of time. By far, my favorite short stories collections do have a common topic explored in different short installments.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw is one of those volumes which offers a glimpse into the everyday existence of black women that are regular church goers while creating their own private world, sometimes in opposition with the religious expectations. They are rebelious, naive, trying to please their elders while carving a path of their own, victims of men´s expectations and physical needs, betrayed and abandoned. The nine stories included in the volume do offer the reader glimpses from the secret lives. 

Some of the stories are told in the first person, some are just accounts, but every time the reader feels like a voyeur. The stories develop autonomously and the characters are not related. Their identity as women of colour, church goers for different reasons, particularly of social nature, is diversified and magnified from an account to another. They do have an active inner life, expressing their desires and the pleasures of the flesh in a very straightforward way, as a personal statement of their personality. In this world widely populated and animated by women, men are the bad characters, as bigamists, uncertain or oppressive figures. Women though can go beyond the men they share sometimes and create spaces of communication and solidarity.

The language is very clear and direct, with colourful references and a intimate wording. The narrator - as I had access to the book in audio format -, Janina Edwards has a valuable contribution in creating an authentic world, with a Southern flavor. I am sure there are many Biblical references I´ve certainly missed, but there is always a special religious women intimacy that is common no matter the language and content of the prayers. My favorite story - in terms of the writing and the approach of the topic - is How to make love with a physicist (I must confess I´ve listened to it twice and maybe I will come back to it again one day).

Although not all stories are equal, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies - among others, a 2020 National Book Award Finalist for Fiction - is a pleasant reading voyeurist experience. You are invited to take a look into those lives and that´s all you got. Some experiences cannot be fully shared, anyway. 

Rating: 3.5 stars