WHATEVER HAPPENED TO INTERRACIAL LOVE? Stories

It's easy to find oneself comparing an audiobook performance to a musical one, and Collins's posthumously published collection of short stories lends itself to that tendency. Each is a glimpse into the twentieth-century African-American experience. Introduced beautifully in a fascinating foreword by Elizabeth Alexander, the stories have their own enthralling verses, refrains, and choruses. Each narrator embraces the text with his or her unique rhythm and beat, whether crooning through the nuances of characters' burgeoning relationships or slicing along the jagged edges of other characters' breakups and disappointments. The overall effect is interesting and engrossing, with the variety of excellent narrators enhancing the written word. The audio performances are as clear-eyed and thoughtful as the prose itself. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2017]