Liliane: A Novel [Paperback]

Ntozake Shange (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1995

Through the polyphonic voices of Liliane Lincoln's childhood friends, lovers, and conversations with her psychoanalyst, Ntozake Shange weaves the life of a remarkable young woman. Liliane Lincoln is an artist who exposes what she knows of herself to the world through her bold and colorful artwork. Gradually, however, Liliane realizes that in order to survive, she must come to terms with what she has kept hidden even from herself. Liliane is extraordinary vision of a woman learning to be who she really is.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shange's third novel is a portrait of a black woman artist presented through multiple perspectives.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Exotic and gritty like its heroine, pretentious and yet painfully real, Shange's third novel (following Betsey Brown, LJ 5/15/85) revels in its counterpoints and surprises. Troubled, alluring artist Liliane moves with grace but carries the baggage of familiar unrest and personal tragedy. Shange reveals her intriguing protagonist through her distinctive choices of lovers and friends, which alternate with conversations between Liliane and her analyst as Liliane searches for her lost mother. Evocations of genteel black Queens, vibrant and dangerous Alphabet City, and moody, sensuous Morocco provide a vivid backdrop for episodes of sex, storytelling, childhood drama, and adult thirst. Musical, erotic, and scathingly reactive to racial history, this is a natural for admirers of Anais Nin (to whom Shange makes a nod) and of Shange's more celebrated contemporaries Paule Marshall and Toni Morrison. Warmly recommended.
--Janet Ingraham, Worthington P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Picador; First Edition edition (September 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312135599
• ISBN-13: 978-0312135591
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,044,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ntozake Shange, poet, novelist, playwright, and performer, wrote the Broadway-produced and Obie Award-winning For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf. She has also written numerous works of fiction, including Sassafras, Cypress and Indigo, Betsy Brown, and Liliane.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrically beautiful prose, March 10, 2001

By 

"cilice" (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liliane: A Novel (Paperback)

I had only known Ntozake Shange through her choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, so I was very curious about her prose writing. I found this book very beautifully written and well crafted. This book is about an artist, Liliane, who journeys into memories of her childhood. As a product of an interracial marriage, Liliane must struggle to define herself and what color means in her life.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Liliane, January 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Liliane: A Novel (Paperback)

This book is a confusing book. It uses images that are vivid in every way imaginable. Liliane is a young woman who is on a quest for her true self. She doesn't want to come to grips with the facts of her parents. Shange strings together memories, dreams, and expectations of a young black woman to bring her to life as we read about her. Victor Jesus, Zoom, Thayer and Sawyer are her lovers who reveal a different side of Liliane that her family and friends aren't fully aware of.