Break Any Woman Down [Paperback]

Dana Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 2003

In this hip, vital, and sexy debut, winner of the 2001 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, Dana Johnson launches a fleet of wonderful stories across unexpected terrain, upending notions of race, class and gender in utterly original ways.

An eleven-year-old black girl from South Central LA discovers the strangeness of moving to the suburbs and falling in love with a white boy. A pair of enthusiastic middle-aged Iranian sisters debate whether or not their futures hold children. A punk musician falls for a girl out of his league. A black lap dancer gives up her job to move in with her Greek actor boyfriend, who hasn’t managed to get roles in anything but porn movies. Whether bold or rueful, salacious or sweet, each voice in Break Any Woman Down is vibrantly authentic; together they add a fresh and welcome chorus to American literature.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The nine stories collected here deservedly won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. In each, Johnson explores the interactions among men and women, women and women, parents and children, whites and blacks, young and old, and the living and the dying most vainly searching for a place to be, physically and/or emotionally. Some of the characters appear in more than one story; readers watch them age, gain knowledge, and continue to look for something they think is missing from their lives. The stories are full of the small details and disappointments of life, the missed opportunities and the inopportune moments that change one's trajectory. With its use of explicit language, this collection challenges the emotions and requires contemplation. Recommended for most collections. Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence Campus Lib.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

A series of lapidary short stories by the winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. The first and last are about a girl in the suburbs of L.A. named Avery; in the opening story, she is the first black girl in her class and in love with an Okie named Melvin; in the last, Avery is grown up, about to break up with her Italian lover over food and her mother. In between are a lovely evocation of friendship between two Persian sisters and the narrator; a vividly offensive tale about a porn star and his buddy who use his girlfriend in a spectacularly offensive example of verbal abuse (the title story); an older woman's monologue, remembering the friend of her youth in a Frankie and Johnny tale. The narrators in these stories are old and young (mostly young), male and female (mostly female), and the language is sharp edged and contemporary. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (August 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400030463
• ISBN-13: 978-1400030460
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #174,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, Sensual, and Brave Writing, July 16, 2005

By 

V. Patterson (South Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Break Any Woman Down (Paperback)

I appreciate the honesty and bravery of these stories. Dana Johnson's writing is sensual and realistic. She approaches issues and topics that are difficult: namely race, class and sex. She writes about straddling cultures in a poignant, nuanced manner. She does not stray from writing about sex.

Her range of characters is impressive. She gives voice to characters that we don't usually get to hear from, and her characters have dignity. The characters seemed real and I cared about what happened to them. I love that. "Melvin in the Sixth Grade", "Three Ladies Sipping Tea in a Persian Garden", and "Markers" are my favorite stories in this collection.

Dana Johnson is a brave, adept writer. I look forward to reading more from her.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful Writing, May 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Break Any Woman Down (Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction) (Hardcover)

Kudos to Dana Johnson for crafting an unforgettable read! The characters from "Break Any Woman Down: Stories" leapt from the pages and spent some time in my bedroom, entertaining me, challenging me, haunting me.

I look forward to reading subsequent works by Ms. Johnson.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary literature by a "Sistah", September 15, 2004

By 

Keena Bookworm (Detroit, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Break Any Woman Down (Paperback)

Let me point out that you don't need to be Black to enjoy these stories, though clearly, Dana Johnson is a pro at depicting the black experience. She's also great at depicting other races. My favorite thing about this collection is the diversity. These stories are so refreshing in contrast to the in your face, street erotica, or the chick lit that is so popular now. Dana Johnson leaves you hungry for more. She wets the appetite for more stories that make you revisit your childhood. She warms the body when describing a sex scene. Her writing is both tasteful and beautiful. I look forward to a novel by this author.