Training School for Negro Girls

Range. I enjoyed the range of experience represented in the characters in each of the stories in the debut collection by Camille Acker titled, Training School for Negro Girls. The situations, mostly set in the District of Columbia, are recognizable and insightful. I especially enjoyed Mambo Sauce, in which a black woman who moved from Brooklyn interacted with the owners and patrons of a neighborhood food joint. The contrast between how Constance and her white boyfriend approached the mambo sauce and the restaurant was perfect. Short stories can leave some readers wanting more exposition, but I found in each of these stories, Acker gets the genre just right: we glimpse into the lives of people we recognize and the ways in which they behave tell us something about human nature. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Training School for Negro Girls from amazon.com.