FICTION

We Are Taking Only What We Need: Stories

by Stephanie Powell Watts
Ecco: HarperCollins. Feb. 2018. 224p. ISBN 9780062749901. pap. $16.99; ebk. ISBN 9780062749864. F
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Watts made quite a splash in the literary world with No One Is Coming To Save Us, described as The Great Gatsby set in rural North Carolina and the inaugural selection of the American Library Association's Book Club Central. Originally published in 2011, her debut short collection is equally as impressive, having won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and been named one of the Best Summer Reads by O: The Oprah Magazine. These short stories read like novellas as we learn of a black Jehovah's Witness missionary struggling with sexual desire, a young drifter who's excited about her travels, or Aunt Ginny, who has grown from an idyllic young woman into a jaded and wise mother figure.
VERDICT What is lovely about these stories is that Watts can take a few words and paint a landscape that reveals so much richness about the people and culture. Similar to Pearl Cleage's Brass Bed and Other Stories, this collection will appeal to readers of Southern and African American fiction.
Reviewed by Ashanti L. White, Fayetteville, NC , Jan 19, 2018
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