The Men of Brewster Place

Rating:
Summary: THE MEN'S STORY
Review: Brewster Place has been the home of many ethnic groups who have come and gone. Now crumbling and decayed this street shares with its readers the stories of its Black inhabitants. You first heard the story about the women of Brewster Place but now the men tell their story.

Our narrator is Ben, the janitor, who takes us introduces the various men and their lives on the condemned street. The reader gets a glimpse of each man as they unfold before us the complicated circumstances of their lives. Gloria Naylor could have given the reader some great insights on the feelings and struggles of these Black men. What the reader is given are undeveloped characters who deserved more depth. The reader gets lost in attempting to figure out how and if these men relate to one another and to the street that they inhabit.

Unfortunately most of the men come across as negative characters. Mooreland Woods is your stereotypical black preacher hungry for power. Ben allows his crippled daughter to be sexually assaulted by a white man while he does nothing. C.C. Baker is your typical drug gang banger out to make a name for himself. In fact the only good man of the lot is Abshu who tries to fight for the young people in his community only to find himself against a brick wall.

As a reader you are so bombarded with these negative images that you wonder what is the message of hope, if any is given in this text? Is Naylor implying that Black men are unable to combat the physical, emotional and spiritual obstacles that come their way? If so, Black people are in trouble.

It would be unfair to compare this work with its predecessor but Naylor could have done a better job in her characterizations in this work. The Men of Brewster Place is a weak work due to its failure to offer one the stories of men who should have more depth. I recommend this book for those who are Naylor fans and wish to see her development through the course of her writing. The book has its possibilities but comes up short. Purchase it for a quick read. It is not the best of Naylor's works but should be examined for its weaknesses and strengths (if they can be found).

Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal
Review: Everyone in the world seemed to have heard about this book and movie, but I hadn't. I picked it up because the plot looked interesting and I like reading books from the male perspective. This book was outstanding. I can't pick a favorite story in here because I enjoyed them all. The plots were tight, the stories read easily, they were believable, and most importantly, the dialogue was fresh and sounded like real people. Not many people can merge all of these characteristics into one, but this lady sure did! (It's even better considering she pinpointed writing from the male perspective). I will be reading the rest of these books and watching the movie.

Rating:
Summary: From a woman's pen comes the male perspective.
Review: Forget the fact that it was a woman who wrote the book. Granted, I am not a big fan of Ms. Naylor's books, but it was something about this one that made me think twice. I found it to be a quick and enjoyable read. The best part was that it wasn't a complete story so much as updates of a few of the men who inhabited Brewster Place, even if it was for a short time. The highlights were bringing back Basil, who ran out on his mother after she paid his bail and stayed on the run for years, finally coming home after her death and wanting to atone for his misdeeds by trying to reform a young mother of two, who has no parenting skill at all. Next, CeCe Baker is captured and interrogated by the police for a murder done for the loyality of his gang. Eugene makes a return to explain why his marriage to Ceil was off and on, until the day came he could no longer return to her and be the husband she deserved. Ben also makes an apperance for a couple of stories, even though he was killed in THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE. Among these gems are short stories of new characters that are as varied in personality and lifestyles, yet all are a part of the neighborhood that will soon be destroyed as part of campaign for renovations. The short story format may put off some readers, others will find it a necessary evil to keep up updated on those familar stomping grounds that became so famous years ago.

Rating:
Summary: From a woman's pen comes the male perspective.
Review: Forget the fact that it was a woman who wrote the book. Granted, I am not a big fan of Ms. Naylor's books, but it was something about this one that made me think twice. I found it to be a quick and enjoyable read. The best part was that it wasn't a complete story so much as updates of a few of the men who inhabited Brewster Place, even if it was for a short time. The highlights were bringing back Basil, who ran out on his mother after she paid his bail and stayed on the run for years, finally coming home after her death and wanting to atone for his misdeeds by trying to reform a young mother of two, who has no parenting skill at all. Next, CeCe Baker is captured and interrogated by the police for a murder done for the loyality of his gang. Eugene makes a return to explain why his marriage to Ceil was off and on, until the day came he could no longer return to her and be the husband she deserved. Ben also makes an apperance for a couple of stories, even though he was killed in THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE. Among these gems are short stories of new characters that are as varied in personality and lifestyles, yet all are a part of the neighborhood that will soon be destroyed as part of campaign for renovations. The short story format may put off some readers, others will find it a necessary evil to keep up updated on those familar stomping grounds that became so famous years ago.

Rating:
Summary: Men Of Brewster Place
Review: I must say that I was not pleased with this book. I was excited about reading it because TheWomen of Brewster Place is one of my favorite books. The only reason I continued to read the book was because of Eugene and Basil. I also found error in the time ti in compaison to The Women Of Brewster Place ( Eugene made a statement about Aids, However at that time it was still be refered to as Grid) However I will say that I you have read the first book, this book will clear up a few of the unanswered questions that you may have had after reading the first book. Even though Basil kept me reading the book, I still could not buy his reasoning for running out on his mother and then trying to make it right.

Rating:
Summary: This was a good book but not the best....
Review: I was in the book store when i came across this book, it look like a quick read, and it was only a dollar so i bought it. The book itself was interesting, its about 7 men who as hard lives and need up on the street called brewster place.Most of the men in this book are connected to one another. after i finished this book i found out the there was a first book call women of brewster place, so im reading that one now(which is real good),I also think the all the men are connected to the women too..but not for sure.this was not a terrible read but it was not the best it did not end right with each story, i know stories are not suppose to end completly but it was like the stories was cut off right in the middle... just when i would really get interested in one of the chapters and want to know what happend the chapter ended. So this book had its up and downs and disappontments, but over all it was a good book, i would recommend this book to anyone who can find it at dollar price and wants to read something interesting and quick.

I would have giving this book 3 1/2 stars but you can't do that so i put down 4.

Rating:
Summary: Stirring and engaging
Review: This book is emotionally packed and made me weep buckets. In it, Naylor displayes her gift to write with a stirring, emotional power. Although I do like the Women better than the Men of Brewster Place - just because some of the men have a real hard time acting right - I'm glad that Naylor wrote this book so that the men could finally have their say. And what a say they have, and their words are important enough that I recommend that people looking to read a good story should listen.

Rating:
Summary: What !
Review: Was Gloria just trying to get a book out to compete with the barrage of fiction being released by black writers or what? She could not have been seriously thinking that this book was of any value.

The characters were week. The storylines were not in line with the way they were portrayed in the Women of Brewster Place.

I got this book when it first came out. I read it quickly and nearly tossed it down in disgust. I went to the post office and mailed it to my best friend because I wanted to see if I was crazy for thinking it was so bad (but I didn't want her to waste the money herself).

I was truly disappointed. I expected so much more from one of my favorite writers of the 80's. I know she can do better because she has on all previous attempts.

Rating:
Summary: The Men of Brewster Place
Review: What a wonderful book! But not as good as The Women of Brewster Place. I can't wait to read my next Gloria Naylor book. :)