Jamel BrinkleyBesprekingen

Started this last summer, finished it this spring. I liked this a lot—stories of people whose lives veered off, either largely or in small ways, from the course they thought they were on. Which is simplifying things in an effort to sum up, but I think it's a good frame. Brinkley writes beautifully, and I'm not always sure I buy his dialogue, it's part and parcel of that elegant prose so I'm fine with that. Less of the fierce energy of his first collection, A Lucky Man, but a good set of stories that make you think about life and trajectories and expectations, and care about even the most poorly behaved of his characters (there are a few).

Title: Witness Stories
Author: Jamel Brinkley
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Witness Stories" by Jamel Brinkley

My Sentiments:

These were quite a collection of various stories taking place in New York City of different ten challenges from 'mental illness, tragic, dementia, old age, gentrification, failed family relationships, family conflicts, dead-end jobs, failed romances, and poverty,' all with different perspectives.

This author gave the reader some brilliant stories; each collection of short stories will give one a lot to think of long after this literary read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar Straus & Giroux for the ARC for the read.

Surprising experience reading this. I could almost chart my reaction(s) story by story, like a trend line. The first one seemed intended to hit one in the gut - through language and party-wildness. I'm certainly no stranger to any of that but the bit at the end where the girls assault the rabid dog had me ready to chuck the book in the corner. That scene, that device, just felt entirely gratuitous and really, pointless. What did its inclusion accomplish? I can't see a viable answer. I stuck with it though and it did come back around in few of the stories but at the end of the read, two words hung for me: "inconclusive" and "manipulative." I understand that short stories, by nature, can be incomplete or perhaps, abrupt but at the end of at least 1/3 of these stories I found myself saying, "yeah? so?" And, the repetitive descriptions of women's bodies just felt, well, manipulative - at least, in the way it was done and repeated from one story to another.

This collection of nine short stories is set in Brooklyn and the South Bronx, where the author grew up, and each is centered around two African American men, who are family members or friends whose relationships are strained and occasionally at the breaking point, which affects themselves and those around them. My favorite stories were "J'ouvert, 1996", in which a troubled teenage boy struggles to accept his mother's new boyfriend while having to look after his younger brother as he seeks independence and his own identity; 'Everything the Mouth Eats", a story about two estranged brothers who decide to travel togther to attend a capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial arts conference, in an attempt to restore their formerly close relationship; "A Family", in which a man recently released from prison attempts reconciliation with the wife of his deceased best friend and his teenage son; and "A Lucky Man", which is centered on a school employee whose alluring wife has recently left him alone and adrift, as a younger man teases and torments him over his loss. I liked the other stories but wasn't as enamored by them, but this is a very promising debut collection and I look forward to reading Jamel Brinkley's future works.

I rarely read short story anthologies. A Lucky Man is a series of stories about fathers and sons. The stories felt very contemporary and complex. Although I found some of the subject matter hard to read due to the characters situations, the author's approach was very unique and kept me turning the page.

DNF at 25% (after two stories).

It's not the book, it's me. The stories were very accomplished but I find myself almost completely unable to read books rooted in the male gaze, where women characters are present primarily to provide motivation for the male characters. Also, animal abuse that presumably was meant to tell me something about the characters, but I think I had figured them out at that point and didn't need the cruelty to drive the point home.½

This is a noteworthy collection; not only are short stories a hard sell for established authors, but for a new author like Brinkley, published by a smaller publisher outside of the Big Five to get any attention at all is unusual. Yet this book shows up on prize lists as diverse as the National Book Award and The Tournament of Books. The attention the is book is getting is well-deserved, the stories collected here are varied, but all speak to the experience of growing up as a person of color in New York. Like most collections, there were a few weaker offerings sandwiched between the strongest stories at the front and back of the book, but all were worth reading. Brinkley's skill is to bring the inner life of a child to life and to make the reader feel every uncertainty. This is a collection that brings to life the people living in the ungentrified areas of New York's boroughs. It's a good collection and I'll be sure to read whatever Brinkley writes next.

This book of nine short stories was on the short list for the National Book Award. I have read a couple of the other nominees and this book stands up quite well compared to those. The nine stories have African American male characters as the prime protagonist in each story. Brinkley varies the age and circumstance of the characters in each story but they mainly center around Brooklyn and the Bronx. The overall theme is the difficulty of men finding their way in the world. Trying to compare what they see and feel for themselves versus the idea of masculine stereotypes that they have to deal with The quality of the writing is excellent and for me it helped add to my knowledge of how it is for black men in America. Each story is in the 20-25 page range which gives the author the ability to delve into the characters. He touches on all the major themes of family, race, youth, old age, etc. Most important is the relationship between sons and fathers and dealing with a family unit that has absentee dads and moms, step parents, step brothers and sisters. A very impressive collection and a worthwhile read.

This is a super strong debut. Brinkley digs into the inner lives of urban men and boys of color in wonderfully nuanced, intelligent stories that deal with some big themes—masculinity, racism, class, anger, disappointment, fathers and sons, aging, the male gaze—without ever getting heavy handed. His characters are complex, often thorny, and always striving toward honesty with themselves—if not always with one another. These deep dives into hearts and minds are warm and emotionally astute, the city settings vivid, and the writing beautiful. Each one of the nine is a standout, but damn I loved “J’ouvert, 1996."

A wonderful award winning collection of short stories focusing primarily on African American characters. These stories are meaty with a great amount of character development across the board. This does not mean that the plots are lacking. They are unique and vary widely. Each story is roughly twenty five pages which gives Mr. Brinkley a large enough pallet to never make the reader feel short changed. I generally don't like short story collections but this one is great.

This NBA longlisted collection of short stories centers on the lives of men of color in the inner city. It looks at their relationships to women - mothers, classmates, wives - at different times in their lives. While many of the stories were wrenching and honest, a few lacked a certain level of feeling - like listening to a piece of music played technically correct, but without love for the music. Overall, though, excellent writing.

A Lucky Man has earned a place on the National Book Award (2018) Short List and it is clear why it was chosen.
Brinkley's short story compilation includes nine short stories which are filled with memorable characters in extraordinary circumstances. All seem to explore relationships in all their many configurations; man to woman, man to man, boys to boys, men/boys to father and mothers and also their relationship to the world around them.
The stories take you to a place unknown to many a reader but from the comfort of your easy chair you can travel to uncomfortable situations and humans which garner your empathy.

There's a reason this collection is a National Book Award finalist for fiction.

Each of these stories focuses on one man (or boy) and one particular relationship he has--with his mother, brother, father, daughter, girlfriend, friend. Over the course of the story he is trying to understand that relationship, and understand how to make it work or what he has done wrong (if anything), or what he needs to do or can do to make it right.

My favorite was the last story, Clifton's Place, which stood out for me because the relationship is not about relatives, it is about unusual friends. It's also a great story to end the book on, because it is kind and hopeful.