Long Train to the Redeeming Sin: Stories about African Women [Paperback]

Kola Boof (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Alluring...earthy...angry...and impressionistic!"--Julie Solomon -- THE NEW YORK TIMES--November 2002

"Boof writes with the precision of a surgeon, the wisdom of a griot and the fire of a volcano!"--Alicia Banks -- ELOQUENT FURY--February 2002

"Charismatic and richly layered...4 stars!"--Diane Marbury -- RAWSISTAZ REVIEWERS--March 2002

"This is dangerous writing in its rawest form...a treasured discovery."--Author Jaqueline Jones LaMon -- AALBC.COM--March 2002

From the Publisher

**The release date of this book has been CHANGED...to April 6th, 2004. You may order it now and Amazon.Com will send it to you when it arrives. The new release date is April 6th, 2004.

Product Details

• Paperback: 179 pages
• Publisher: Door of Kush (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971201900
• ISBN-13: 978-0971201903
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,284,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Egyptian-Sudanese-American novelist and poet KOLA BOOF is the author of several provocative books including The Sexy Part of the Bible, Flesh and the Devil, Long Train to the Redeeming Sin and Virgins In the Beehive. Her writing has appeared in Harper's and the story collection Politically Inspired. Her autobiography, Diary of a Lost Girl, was published in 2006. She has been interviewed by MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN; and has been featured in TV Guide, Time, the New York Post, and the New York Times. She lives between Harlem and Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's true...Black Women are Beautiful!, April 1, 2005

By 

Judd (Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Long Train to the Redeeming Sin: Stories about African Women (Paperback)

My only complaint is that this book is too short. My girlfriend was given this book as a gift and didn't feel like reading about women in Africa, so I picked it up and I couldn't put it down. Man, it's powerful. It's about all these different African women in different parts of Africa and it tells a lot of things about black women that I never thought about. A lot of it was sad and lot of it was anger at black men and the white race, but the lives of these women is so interesting that I did not mind that. Warning, this book is not for young people, because the sexual themes are graphic and there is a graphic castration of a white man.

As a white man in Iowa, I just want to say that Black Women are beautiful.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courage of Conviction, January 19, 2005

By 

Kim Anderson Ray "The Suburban Sista" (Aiken, SC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Long Train to the Redeeming Sin: Stories about African Women (Paperback)

Sudanese-American writer Kola Boof is a vibrant and, occasionally, strident voice in afro-centric literature. LONG TRAIN TO THE REDEEMING SIN: Stories About African Women is an eclectic collection of poems and short stories that spans from the historical, to the mystical, to modern day Africa. The characters and plots are moving and relevant to the thoughts and issues of women on the African continent, but they are equally relevant to African-American women in helping us to understand the effects, both positive and negative, of American culture on African women as personified by the story entitled Black America Diva Girl. Further, Ms. Boof exploits the myth of the superiority of Anglo characteristics in Day of Vow where we meet the beautiful and tragic Zorina who questions "...if she was good enough to demand to be treated with affection and tenderness."

Ms. Boof's writing bubbles like a fountain with energy and, sometimes, incredible rage and grief. Although, the text could still use a good editing for typos and grammar errors, her skill as a storyteller is not to be denied. This book is insightful and innovative. Every woman, regardless of race or culture, should read it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Classic for the Black Folks, June 11, 2005

By 

Messiah "The Man" (D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Long Train to the Redeeming Sin: Stories about African Women (Paperback)

If you have read books at school like I had to by Langston Hughes, James Baldwin and people like that then you will not be disappointed with LONG TRAIN TO SIN. I never heard of Kola Boof six months ago, but now she's one of my 3 favorite authors.

I personally enjoyed her novel "Flesh and the Devil" better than this one, but these short stories are solid and the presentation is tight. This is more the kind of book they make you read in English or History class, but it's not boring and its different, so I have to give it a str8 up five stars.