Life Is Short But Wide

J. California Cooper is one of my favorite writers and her novels and short story collections will always satisfy your need to read something good.

Her newest novel, Life Is Short But Wide, will be released next week, March 24, and it sounds like another winner. It chronicles two families trying to eek out an existence in Wideland, Oklahoma in the early 1900s. Through the eyes of a community elder, Hattie Brown, you learn the story of the Strong family and their neighbors in this midwestern town just a mere generation post-slavery.

My descriptions never give books justice they deserve. However, if any of you have an elderly relative who tells good stories at your family gatherings and keeps you enraptured, you will find J. California Cooper's writing style fits within that style. Sweeping stories that come together with a great lesson and/or punchline that tells you something about life.

I've shared before that my favorite short story by her is $100 and Nothing (if you've got an ex who has done you wrong, you will love this tale of revenge!) and her novel, Family, is a novel that will have you crying buckets as you witness a mother's love for her family is always there.

Highly recommended from one of our best writers of the day.
fs