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A Woman's Place
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With this, her first work of fiction, Marita Golden, author of the acclaimed Migration of the Heart ("a treasure mine of meaning and imagery that reads like a lyrical and well-balanced novel"-Newsday), takes her place beside a company of gifted writers. More than a remarkable story of friendship, hers is a brilliantly crafted work whose sinewy layers at once arouse the mind and awaken the humanity is us all.
A Woman's Place traces the lives of three young Black women who meet in the late sixties at an elite New England college. Bonded by a deep friendship, the three also share a common idealism, as they confront the conflicts, dreams, and chaos of a generation. But college days and the years that follow bring change that irrevocably alters their lives. And on an odyssey traveled both together and alone, each will be forced to come to terms with her heritage and her heart.
For Serena, the passionate radical, pride in her African roots will drive her to seek a life of political commitment, and existence devoid of "an obsession with the inconsequential." For Crystal, the poet and teacher, marriage to a White man will threaten to alienate her forever from those she cherishes most. And Faith will find a deceptive sense of safety by adopting the Muslim religion and a cloistered life of domesticity.
Against a broad canvas of Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Kenya, and Zimbabwe, A Woman's Place examines the contemporary emotional landscape of three Black women who speak and dream for us all. This important first novel moves from the crises of interracial marriage, through the conflicts of Muslim tradition, to the contradictions that greet American Blacks seeking a homeland in Africa. With A Woman's Place, Marita Golden exquisitely fulfills the promise of her earlier work, and emerges a writer of piercing insight and proven artistry.
