Let the Dead Bury Their Dead

These linked short stories from 1992 were probably revolutionary for their time, when collections written by Black authors were few, but almost thirty years gone by does not put them in the best light. Especially as compared to those by Black women such as Deesha Philyaw, Renee Simms, and many others, they are brutally violent, with women primarily portrayed as lustful temptresses who are the ruination of men and of themselves. Most surprising is the appearance of Booker T. Washington in the town of Tims Creek, NC, the setting for all the stories, a town founded by Menes/Pharoah, who escapes enslavement and leads several successful revolts. A worthy read, unsettling and disturbing - there is no comfort to be found here.

I started out really enjoying these short stories but somewhere around 2/3 of the way read I began losing interest and continued to do so. Therefore I did not read all of the last 2 stories. I did enjoy and appreciate the diversity in this collection. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy short stories.

Beautiful to read, no pretension, as with a lot of recent fiction, particularly that of university instructor/authors.