Linden Hills (Contemporary American Fiction Series)

by Gloria Naylor

Book Overview

A powerful look at an affluent black community from Gloria Naylor (1950-2016), the National Book Award-winning author of The Women of Brewster Place A world away from Brewster Place, yet intimately... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140088296
• Release Date: March 1986
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Layers of hell

I first read this book for an AP english class my senior year of high school, shortly after we had read _The Inferno_. It's a very beautiful book, although indeed sometimes the gorgeous writing is describing some very painful things. Naylor seems to have the ability to delineate her character's inner self with very revealing language - the pastor who serves his flock but also is an alcoholic, the young gay man who must marry a woman or risk losing a prosperous future. The story deals with how people trap themselves, put themselves into hell - the Satan-figure hardly needs to act to ensnare them because they're too busy snaring themselves. Very powerful, very moving, very good book that reads smoothly.

A Complex Novel Based on Dante's Inferno

Naylor's work is genius, but to truly enjoy it, readers must first check out Dante's Inferno. Linden Hills parallels this book, describing the nine levels of Hell that exist in the African-American suburb. Naylor takes the readers through each level, getting closer to the final and most evil level, where Luther resides. Linden Hills is a complex novel incorporating African-Americans' struggles with the American dream, accepting inevitable evils that accompany the search for this dream, and the lengths people go to for power and wealth. Many readers say this book is depressing, however, to fully understand the purpose and meaning of it, you must read Dante's Inferno.

Shocking! Explosive! Gritty and Compelling

This was the second novel of Gloria Naylor's that was assigned to me by Dr.Taylor-Thompson(Texas Southern U.) and at first I found it to be a strange and complex book. I often talked with Dr.Thompson to make sure I was getting the point. To my surprise I was and started to enjoy the book once I realized what was going on. The story I've been told mirrors that of Amiri Baraka's(LeRoi Jones)Dante's Inferno, which I also plan to read.What I found so compelling about this story was how the residence seem to believe they were nothing if they didn't live on certain streets within Linden Hills, an affluent African American suburb. They were educated, money hunger and strange all in one. Willie the main character and narrator, along with his bestfriend Lester take us on a journey beyond the walls of these strange peoples homes and into their lives for an unforgettable experience. They introduce us to people like Luther Nedeed, Willa Prescott-Nedeed, Xavier Donnell, Rev.Michael T.Hollis and Laurel Dumont to name a few. What the story reveals is greed, the need for power and more power and the hierachy of what they believed life to truly be. I'm planning and looking forward to reading this book again. Naylor's style of writing maybe complex at first but, you'll soon get over that and find the book very thought-provoking. You'll then be hooked ready to read her other wondeful novels. I recommend this book to all, especially english teachers in middle school and beyond for their students

It was great...

Gloria Naylor's writing style may be too involved for some, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This book makes you think about classism, racism, sexism and all the other ism's. It's my favorite out of all of her books.

Linden Hills is a frightening flip side of "making it".

Linden Hills is a timeless book about "success", andthe frightening consequences of selling out to "the highestbidder". The story portrays the tragically successful neighborhood of Linden Hills, 3 generations deep in Black progess and the American dream. But now, as Luther Nedeed tries to keep up his father's and grandfather's traditions in the modern times, it becomes fragmented and falls apart. Now, instead of requiring only the work of the residents, Linden Hills wants their very dreams and souls: A young lawyer must give up the love of his life for a sham of a marriage, a preacher gives up the word of God for power and pretention, a young businesswoman lets the world tell her what's important instead of looking inside herself until it's too late. And 2 young men from both sides of the tracks discover the horrid reality and lead to its demise as they work their way through the neighborhood for holiday spending money. Incredible, prophetic, educa! ting book.!!!READ IT!!!!