Book excerpt: Fifteen years ago, Gloria Naylor burst onto the American literary scene with The Women of Brewster Place. Now she has focused her attention on the other side of the story - the men of Brewster Place. Like the women, they are committed to one another and to their community. Ben, who died in the first Brewster Place novel, is resurrected to narrate the tales of seven men and the women who love them. The complexity of their personal issues and how they are resolved leaves the reader with renewed hope and optimism.