The way forward is with a broken heart

Unusual and revealing, this story collection lays bare the intricate web of issues that connects so much of Alice Walker's writing. It opens with a long non-fiction memoir, a passionate account of her early marriage to a Jewish lawyer and their life together in racist Mississippi. This relationship is grounded in love and shared politics and finds expression in the birth of a daughter, yet it does not last. Written with wisdom and hindsight, 'To My Young Husband' gives voice to lost love, idealism and hope. Ten stories follow, each of which treads a little further down the paths established in the memoir. These are tales of sisters, of family, of love for men and for women. They consider issues of racism and slavery, politics and sex, change, friendship, movement. But above all they are fictions in their own right, glimpses of lives and relationships which give vibrant colour to their themes. Alice Walker's voice, her lyricism, her magical use of detail to illuminate and add sensuality have never seemed stronger. Rich, funny, impassioned, honest, here is a book of stories which charts a life in progress, an identity explored. Alice Walker's writing has repeatedly broken moulds. Her new book once again redraws the landscape.