Homemade Love

Name: Homemade Love
Brand: Recorded Books
Availability: InStock
Author: J. California Cooper
ISBN: 9781449814410

Author: J. California Cooper

Narrator: Susan Spain, Donna Bailey, Starla Benford, Peter Jay Fernandez, Kim Staunton

Unabridged: 6 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 05/14/2010

Categories: Fiction, African American & Black Fiction

Synopsis

Critics have compared her work to that of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, but J. California Cooper has a warm, witty style that's definitely her own. Each of her short stories is a gem of downhome wisdom, polished with a bit of gossip, some heartbreak, and lots of humor. In "Funny Valentines" a "simple" woman draws one heart on Valentine's Day and divides it among the people she loves, until all but one of them lies in the cemetery. "Living" portrays a man in midlife crisis who leaves his loving wife and pleasant country home for a taste of high city living and returns with a new perspective on life. "Spooks" is the tongue-in-cheek tale of a man who masquerades as a ghost in order to outsmart an unscrupulous suitor and win the heart of a vulnerable widow. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and always touching, J. California Cooper's characters enlighten us and enrich us as they find love in unlikely places. The warm narrations give readers a sense of chatting with nosy but well-meaning neighbors over the back fence.

About J. California Cooper

J. California Cooper (1931–2014) first found acclaim as a playwright. The author of seventeen plays, she was named Black Playwright of the Year in 1978. It was through her work in the theater that she caught the attention of acclaimed poet and novelist Alice Walker. Encouraged by Walker to turn her popular storytelling skills to fiction, Cooper wrote her first collection of short stories, A Piece of Mine, in 1984. Two more story collections followed, and in 1986 came Homemade Love, which won an American Book Award.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer on April 29, 2023

What stood out about this short story collection, first published in 1986, was how conversational it was. It felt like I’d been invited into a neighbor’s home to relax and hear the stories of her life. I’ve said something similar in other reviews, but I meant it metaphorically to give a sense of the......more

Goodreads review by Eugenie on September 11, 2015

More bite sized brilliance - I could read J. California Cooper till the chickens go to roost.......more

Goodreads review by Rae | My Cousin’s Book Club on December 15, 2023

J. California Cooper just doesn't miss!! This collection of short stories is based on the idea of "homemade love" which means something that is authentica and genuine - can't be bought in a store. I really enjoyed the different stories and the conversational style writing that each one has. Each sto......more

Goodreads review by Lulu on September 16, 2020

This is my second time reading this collection of short stories and I fell in love with J. California Cooper all over again. She was an excellent story teller. Each story deals with love, different types and on different levels. There are some powerful lessons in this little book.......more

Goodreads review by Summer on February 24, 2021

Short story collections are always a hit-or-miss for me. A lot of the time, I either end up feeling too invested in the characters when the story abruptly stops or not quite vested enough. This collection left me satisfied and smiling after each story (weird sentence). While these stories are only l......more