Let the Dead Bury Their Dead (Harvest American Writing Series) [Paperback]

Randall Kenan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Harvest American Writing Series | Publication Date: June 4, 1993

Set in North Carolina, these are stories about blacks and whites, young and old, rural and sophisticated, the real and fantastical. Named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, nominated for the 1992 National Book Critics Circle Award, and given the Lambda Award.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A gallery of lovers, losers, dreamers and misfits roil the North Carolina farm town of Tims Creek in Kenan's book of imaginative, unpredictable stories, which was nominated for the NBCC fiction award.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A gallery of lovers, losers, dreamers and misfits roil the North Carolina farm town of Tims Creek in Kenan's book of imaginative, unpredictable stories, which was nominated for the NBCC fiction award.
(Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; First Harvest Edition edition (June 4, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156505150
• ISBN-13: 978-0156505154
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #419,162 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ingenious tapestry of race, folklore and the South!, May 1, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Let the Dead Bury Their Dead (Harvest American Writing Series) (Paperback)

Don't be fooled by the label of "short" stories. These twelve tales are as packed with brilliance as any long book of fiction. Kenan uses a mystical voice to convey the sometimes sad, sometimes happy, and always intriguing point of view of Southern Americans. A must read for anyone who seriously is interested in reaching a full understanding of the South

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, plain and simple, October 26, 2000

By 

forrestframingham "forrestframingham" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Let the Dead Bury Their Dead (Harvest American Writing Series) (Paperback)

I was lucky enough to have Randall Kenan as a teacher for a college fiction class, some seven years ago. I have read books by former teachers which I have not been enthralled with, and then there's Let The Dead Bury Their Dead. Seven years have gone by, and there are aspects of the stories contained in this collection that are never far from my mind. The elderly woman teacher, Mabel, who is going crazy. Mabel, Mabel, Mabel. The woman whose grandson dies, who then meets his lover, and struggles. The woman luxuriating in the bathtub, listening to Al Green sing Let's Stay Together, as she thinks of her young lover. One measure of a book is how it stays with you. I assume I will take Let The Dead Bury Their Dead to the grave.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, January 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Let the Dead Bury Their Dead (Harvest American Writing Series) (Paperback)

What can I say? From the first story to the last (my favorite, a mesmerizing tale about a former slave who achieves a mythic quality to his life) this collection of stories is brilliant. It is a consistently inventive, intelligent, and passionate account of the fantastic, mystical, and ordinary lives in a small Southern town. Keep writing, Mr. Kenan. I, for one, await a follow-up to this book.