The Big Mama Stories [Paperback]

Shay Youngblood (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These folktale-like stories, told by a young woman about her "mamas"--the several women who raised her following the death of her mother--capture the dialect and climate of the black South of the '60s. Each work centers around one of the mamas; the narrative voice throughout is intimate and assured--Youngblood maintains a near-flawless cadence and a consistent tone with subtlety and grace. Unfortunately, a taut style cannot compensate for the flatness of her characters and the predictability of their actions. The issues addressed in this fiction debut--obsessive love, parenting, loyalty, continuity, the initiation of a girl into womanhood--are trivialized by cursory treatment of the characters and superficial interpretations. Incompletely or insufficiently differentiated, Youngblood's women begin to blur. Although she may have intended to overlap their personalities in order to demonstrate that the combined resources of many "mamas" in raising the protagonist are more effective than those of one woman alone, the resulting homogeneity inhibits this collection.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

The narrator of The Big Mama Stories grew up in "the projects," an area with "lines that marked us" and where the best blackberries flourished in the black cemetery. When her biological mother deserted her at five, the narrator was left with Big Mama, who was neither big nor her mother: "Just regular. A old Black woman who had a gift for seeing with her heart." Big Mama, however, is only one of this young girl's mothers - and they're not all female. Through their interconnected stories we learn their histories and hear their advice. From Big Mama, an explanation about why she uses snuff becomes a lesson on Black pride. From Miss Corrine, the hairdresser, the narrator learns the truth about her mother along with some advice: "if you got to dance or dream or anything at all, take it a step at a time and don't let nothing and nobody get in your way when you doing right." There's Miss Tom "who was not a pretty woman, she was handsome like a man" and Uncle Buck who tells her "Sometimes I love Jesus and sometimes I think he hard of hearing." On occasion all the mothers come together, to heal an illness or to celebrate a rite of passage, and during these events the narrative soars. Whether quiet or jubilant, sad or defiant or thoughtful, each story has power and pride, given freely to the narrator, and through her, to us. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Firebrand Books (July 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932379575
• ISBN-13: 978-0932379573
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brought back bittersweet memories., March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Mama Stories (Paperback)

I recently picked up this book at the library and I must say that the best things really do come in small packages. I laughed a lot and even cried a little. Being a black woman and having spent a few years of my upbringing surrounded by family in the South, I could relate to so much of what Ms. Youngblood wrote about. Even now, visiting my relatives conjures up bittersweet memories of a very complicated time in our nation's history. Her stories were right on the money in describing the strength of black women and is a tribute to Big Mamas everywhere, including mine.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful southern stories, August 14, 2000

By 

Beryl Kalisa (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Mama Stories (Paperback)

Big Mama Stories are a wonderful collection of short stories with a southern backgrround. The stories identify southern women of long ago that we need. Some with education, most with limited formal education but lots of savy, guts, and wisdom to surive.Some are humorous, some suspensful, other sad. Its a must and easy rea.d A real salute to Agrican American ordinary women oof yesterday.

5.0 out of 5 stars As all-American as Mark Twain from a unique perspective, December 13, 2011

By 

Erik T. Bartley (Bakersfield, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Big Mama Stories (Paperback)

I was raised by a grandmother from the South and I found this book to be very reflective of not only the language and culture of the 1960's but of my life growing up in the 80's as well. The short stories were beautifully written and while even though some of them are no more than one or two sentences long this book stands out in my head as one of the most all-American books of all time, akin to Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" novel.

From a series of short stories one gains a collage of life in this "project town". The stories are filled with humor and an underlying current of resilience and hope. Definitely a great American novel and one of the best works of the Harlem Renaissance! Definitely recommended reading...