God Sends Sunday: A Novel [Paperback]

Arna Bontemps (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 2005

God Sends Sunday is the first of three groundbreaking novels by Arna Bontemps, arguably one of the most versatile black writers of the twentieth century. Bontemps inaugurated his long and remarkable career in the Harlem Renaissance era when he was awarded three poetry prizes and established lifetime kinship with such noted figures as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay.

God Sends Sunday was inspired by Arna Bontemps's great-uncle Buddy, whose down-home folk spirit animates this racy story of Little Augie, an irrepressible black jockey of the romantic 1890s. As a frail, undersized youngster, Little Augie leaves his grown sister's home and with luck and charm rises to fame and fortune on the Mississippi River racetrack circuit. But sudden wealth and hopeless rivalry for a beautiful woman change Little Augie's character and set him on a path of self-destruction.

Born in 1902 in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bontemps died at Nashville in 1973. He established a legacy of some forty published works for adults, juveniles, and children, including histories, fiction, folklore, and biographies.

Bontemps collaborated with Countee Cullen to bring these qualities to a controversial and spectacular production of God Sends Sunday, called St. Louis Woman, originally performed on Broadway in 1946.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (February 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743268911
• ISBN-13: 978-0743268912
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #455,570 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a significant text from the Harlem Renaissance Era., September 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: God Sends Sunday (Hardcover)

This work by an important author of the Harlem Renaissance focuses on African American folk life, folklore, and folk music (Blues) during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It is a delightful first work of fiction by the author. The character of the protagonist is based on that of his Uncle Buddy, who inspired his love for the folk tradition.