Great literarute allows the reader to step into another's shoes and experience life as another person. That is exactly what these stories do. Brilliant and beautful.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar Straus & Giroux for the ARC.

I wasn't super familiar with Jamel Brinkley's previous work, but kept seeing buzz for WITNESS across social media and decided to give it a try. I was not one bit disappointed! And am now looking forward to tackling his previous collection. The stories in WITNESS, which are surprising and voice-y and gently heartbreaking, are set across New York, and deal with family and intimacy and contemporary Blackness. It's a gorgeous collection. Thanks so much for the publisher for the e-galley!

Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook. These ten stories, show different generations of black families that deal with the obligations of family life, dead end jobs, failed romances and an ever gentrifying New York City. Life is never straightforward in these tales as a man is trying to deal with a visit from his young son while he tries to move his father, who is suffering from dementia, and into an elder care facility and wondering who might buy his father's house, seeing as the ghost of his mother is still living there. Story after story is as rich as this one, asking hard questions, while always keeping a good sense of humor.

Thank you, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for allowing me to read Witness early!

What a beautiful short-story collection. Each one was more beautiful than its predecessor.

Jamel Brinkley is a gifted writer and a brilliant story teller, the ten stories in this novel are no exception. 'Witness' gathers different people in stages of their life that leaves them an opportunity to 'bear witness'. All the stories are powerful and truly engrossing. Highly recommended reading and well worthy of five stars.