Althea, Viola, and Lillian Butler are three sisters who have gone through
good times and bad, almost always together. Althea basically raises her
sisters and their brother, Joe, after their beloved mother dies and their
father's job takes him away for months at a time. Each of the Butler
sisters has her own demons, but nothing prepares them for the
unthinkable.
When Althea and her husband Proctor, successful restaurant owners
and upstanding citizens who give back to their community, are found
guilty of fraud and embezzlement, Lillian, who lives in the house the
Butlers grew up in, takes in their teenage daughters, Baby Vi and Kim.
She also cares for her deceased ex-husband's mother who needs near
constant supervision. Viola lives in Chicago, recently separated from
her wife and is trying not to give into the eating disorder that rears its
ugly head whenever she's stressed. But Viola comes to help Lillian with
their nieces after Althea goes to prison.
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF
RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY GIRLS is an emotional look at an African-
American family, dealing with a host of issues - incarceration, abuse,
depression, eating disorders, and much more. While the issues are
heavy and the conversations at times hard to read, Anissa Gray's debut
novel is an intriguing look at the secrets families keep from one
another, and while it may be extremely difficult, how families come
together when it matters most. I found Gray's writing style simple yet
poetic, which worked well during both the descriptions of struggles as
well as the passages of hope for the future.
The Mothers meets An American Marriage in this dazzling
debut novel about mothers and daughters, identity and
family, and how the relationships that sustain you can also
be the ones that consume you.
The Butler family has had their share of trials—as sisters
Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest—but nothing prepared
them for the literal trial that will upend their lives.
Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a
force to be reckoned with and her younger sisters have
alternately appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They
are as stunned as the rest of the small community when she
and her husband Proctor are arrested, and in a heartbeat the
family goes from one of the most respected in town to utter
disgrace. The worst part is, not even her sisters are sure
exactly what happened.
As Althea awaits her fate, Lillian and Viola must come
together in the house they grew up in to care for their
sister’s teenage daughters. What unfolds is a stunning
portrait of the heart and core of an American family in a
story that is as page-turning as it is important.
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