A romp whose light, comic tone and silly asides in footnote form belie the seriousness of its social inquiry ... The novel is structured like a circle, beginning at the end, so we know from the start that Scharisse will become disillusioned, and the next couple hundred pages take their time explaining why ... The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman holds up a mirror to a community that is largely left out of the trad-wife conversation: socially conservative Black women who willingly maintain a patriarchy that subjugates them, leaving them at the mercy of their husbands.
A smart and saucy delight ... God and Philyaw work in mysterious ways. Both also tend to go on a little too long — par for Him, perhaps, but a surprise from such a deft short story writer ... Gird up thy loins.
Initially promising but mostly unsatisfying ... This book about mess is itself a bit of a mess. Philyaw tries to weave together the stories behind first lady Freeman’s tumultuous year, but the connective tissues fray ... I always wanted an irreverent tale about a church, its members, its ups and its downs, and the scandals that beset moral high grounds. I didn’t take Morrison’s advice to write the book, but I prayed someone else would. I hoped Philyaw’s attempt might answer my prayer, but I prayed in vain.
A smart and powerful novel. The issues it addresses are serious, but with Scharisse telling her own story, there is true humor to be found in her challenges ... This deeply satisfying novel joins a literary tradition of honoring Black women that includes such esteemed precursors as Toni Morrison’s .
