The National Book Award-winning novel-and contemporary classic-that launched the brilliant career of Gloria Naylor, now with a foreword by Tayari Jones

[A] shrewd and lyrical portrayal of many of the realities of black life … Naylor bravely risks sentimentality and melodrama to write her compassion and outrage large, and she pulls it off triumphantly. -The New York Times Book Review

Brims with inventiveness-and relevance. -NPR’s Fresh Air

In her heralded first novel, Gloria Naylor weaves together the stories of seven women living in Brewster Place, a bleak-inner city sanctuary, creating a powerful, moving portrait of the strengths, struggles, and hopes of black women in America. Vulnerable and resilient, openhanded and openhearted, these women forge their lives in a place that in turn threatens and protects-a common prison and a shared home. Naylor renders both loving and painful human experiences with simple eloquence and uncommon intuition in this touching and unforgettable read.