THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 11, 1995 TAG: 9510110062
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY JACKIE R. BOOKER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
DESCRIBED AS A collection of autobiographical essays, ``The Richer, The Poorer: Stories, Sketches and Reminiscences'' (Doubleday, 254 pp., $22) by Dorothy West is both interesting and disappointing. Most of the 30 stories have appeared earlier; many were published before 1970 and some as early as 1926. The collection, however, does not hold its themes and makes ``The Richer, The Poorer,'' a weak follow-up to West's recent popular novel, ``The Wedding.''
Among the most interesting selections is West's first story, ``The Typewriter,'' written when she was 17, about a father, his self-importance, fear of death and subsequent untimely meeting with the inevitable. Another story, ``Mammy,'' features African-Americans during the 1940s denying themselves self-respect and dignity in order to gain acceptance from whites. In ``The Envelope,'' the major characters are a married couple, neither of whom loves the other, making the best of the situation.
These particular story/essays hold their own and warrant further development. Other appealing works include ``The Roomer,'' in which a married woman has an affair with a boarder, and ``Odyssey of an Egg,'' in which a thief steals money from a dead woman only to discover that it is counterfeit.
But essays such as ``Flight,'' describing an airplane making an emergency landing, and ``The Purse,'' about a daughter-mother-grandmother relationship, seem out of place. These and other selections, some of which are undeveloped because of their brevity, weaken the book.
West's first novel, ``The Living Is Easy,'' appeared in 1948; her second, ``The Wedding,'' 47 years later. In between, she published numerous short stories and essays. Founder of the Harlem Renaissance literary magazine, West now lives on Martha's Vineyard.
Although she features strong African-American women and men as central characters in ``The Richer, The Poorer,'' children and childhood themes are also pronounced. Because the collection spans seven decades, some themes are conspicuous by their absence in the African-American experience. West, for example, says nothing about the influence of West Indian writers during the Harlem Renaissance. Moreover, West does not address the issue of ``passing'' - assimiliation of light-skinned African-Americans into the larger society.
Despite decades of civil rights efforts and achievements, West, who grew up in middle-class Boston, does not include the movement, in any essay. She skips significant aspects of her life and career, as well.
``The Richer, The Poorer'' lacks balance in length, selection and theme. A more conventional autobiography would have revealed the rich and diverse life story of this important African-American who bridges historic periods and stands as an heiress to the most important cultural period in African-American history.
Although West has rightly received much acclaim for the long-awaited ``The Wedding,'' this hodgepodge collection of essays does not sustain the reader's interest. MEMO: Jackie R. Booker, formerly of Norfolk State University, is an associate
professor of history at Western Connecticut State University in
Danville, Conn. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Dorothy West's latest is an autobiographical collection.
by CNB