Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsUnderstanding at Last!
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017
Praisesong for the Widow by Paule Marshall is a book that captivated me over three decades ago when it was first published. I reread it and I feel the same way I felt when I read it for the first time. There are so many memorable lines, quotes and lessons that I have rehearsed over the years.
Avey Johnson is a middle-aged, African American woman who has lost her precious husband, Jay (Jerome) Johnson. She is on a cruise with friends when she suddenly feels drawn to quit the vacation and return home much to her friends’ dismay. Her Aunt Cuney keeps coming to her in dreams and seems battle hander and pull on her. She ends up leaving the ship and is left on the island of Grenada with a 24 hour wait before she can fly back to New York. She wrestles with her restlessness and walks down the beach until she is lost. She encounters Lebert Joseph, an older man who insists she come to an annual event called The Excursion.
She goes through a catharsis and a soul cleansing. She realizes that she her husband had acquired things but they had lost the simple everyday laughter and love along the way. Read this thought-provoking book that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat as Avey puts the puzzle pieces together and gets back in touch with her true self.
