The Living is Easy [Paperback]

Dorothy West (Author), Adelaide M. Cromwell (Afterword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1558611479 | ISBN-13: 978-0965392129 | Publication Date: July 1, 1995 | Edition: 1ST

One of only a handful of novels published by black women during the forties, the story of ambitious Cleo Judson is a long-time cult classic. The Living Is Easy is delightfully wry and ironic humor—even bitchiness—of the novel coexists with a challenging moral and social complexity.

"A powerful work."—Essence

"Dorothy West is a brisk storyteller with an eye for ironic detail...a deft stylist and writer of social satire."—Ms.

"Long beloved for its wry and ironic humor, this novel continues to delight and challenge readers."—Feminist Bookstore News

* Alternate of the Book-of-the-Month and Quality Paperback Book Clubs *

Suggested for course use in:
African-American studies
20th-century U.S. literature

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Living is Easy takes a close, critical look at upper-class Black society in Boston around World War I. At its center is Cleo Jericho Judson, born in the South, the oldest of several sisters, a woman who exploits or creates weakness in others to gain her place in society and to maintain her role as the focus of her sisters' dependent admiration. Cleo is conniving, self-serving, domineering, as well as beautiful, dramatic, and breath-taking in her audacity. She hears of a house in a higher-class part of Boston where "there wasn't another colored family she knew who had beaten her to it." The rent is thirty-five dollars; she tells her husband it is fifty, convinces the landlord to accept twenty-five, and pockets the difference. Once she has the house, she convinces her sisters and their children to "visit" her; five months later, only Cleo still has a marriage and the sisters have nowhere else to go. Yet if Cleo is unethical, there is a clarity to her motives that is lacking in the Boston-born society she is determined to join, an elite society consisting of light-skinned, college-educated daughters and sons of self-made businessmen who - when the money runs out - find themselves caught between their own pride and the racism of the rest of the world. Dorothy West knew the society she wrote about - in fact, many of the characters are based on real people - and her observations are both sharp-edged and empathetic. -- 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: 376 pages
• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY; 1ST edition (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558611479
• ISBN-13: 978-0965392129
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly written!, August 29, 2001

By 

"malouise" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Living is Easy (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Wedding" but "The Living is Easy" is brilliant. Cleo is excellently portrayed....the kind of person that you want to hate but you can't help but admire her determination to attain her goal. Dorothy West skillfully reveals to us the inner woman of Cleo and we see that she is not so cold-hearted but has her share of hurt, pain, vulnerability etc. Her way of dealing with her emotions which to her is a weakness, is incredible. Her anguish when her husband leaves is the most revealing because she has become dependent on his strength.
The story deals with the universal problem of skin color and status in an upper-class society...this ongoing problem brings about such a sadness....such a waste of energy.....will it ever go away?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One great story, July 7, 2000

By 

E. Powers "pearlyvictoria" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Living is Easy (Paperback)

The main character has little feeling and reading about how she came to be that way was great. The entire plot was wonderful, cleanly written with nothing left hanging and Cleo was endearing but maddening. The author's description of the era and township was flattering and understandable. You will never forget Cleo.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three-dimensional characters in an intriguing story, April 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Living is Easy (Paperback)

I read this book months ago and it stayed with me. Her characters are fully drawn, not two-dimensional caricatures. The writing displays all sides of this complex heroine and her ultimately devastating impact on everyone associated with her. Also, a fascinating look into a society not portrayed elsewhere.