Quakertown [Import] [Paperback]

Lee Martin (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Prentice-Hall (January 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131837613
• ISBN-13: 978-0131837614
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Lee Martin is the author of the novels, The Bright Forever, a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; River of Heaven; Quakertown; and the forthcoming Break the Skin. He has also published two memoirs, From Our House and Turning Bones, and another memoir, Such a Life, is set to appear in 2012. His first book was the short story collection, The Least You Need To Know. He is the co-editor of Passing the Word: Writers on Their Mentors. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in such places as Harper's, Ms., Creative Nonfiction, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, and Glimmer Train. He is the winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. He teaches in the MFA Program at The Ohio State University, where he was the winner of the 2006 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars this book was great...., April 13, 2004

By 

Elizabeth Tyler (Overland Park, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quakertown (Paperback)

This book is great....
Reviewer: Elizabeth Tyler from Overland Park, KS USA
... for anyone who is interested in the true story of segregation in the 1920's. Althought the book is ficiton, Lee Martin creates the charaters as real as ever. From the father who knows all, to the daughter who is lovestruck and always in trouble, the book tells the magnificent story of a town in trouble. Quakertown is an all black neighborhood located in Texas. the whitefolks who reside in the town next to Quakertown have heard about the riots that are breaking out in other neighborhoods like Quakertown. The whites believe that they are the better men, their town is extremely segregated. The owners of businesses won't let black people try on clothes, drink from tehir water fountains, etc. Because of the riot rumors, the white folks decide that they are going to move Quakertown, houses and all to a patch of land further away. The black man who will help them accomplish this is Little Jones, the father of Camellia Jones. Little is the gardener of the town, and though he is black, has gained somewhat respect from the whitefolk. Camellia, who has fallen in love with the son of the town's bank president, becomes pregnant even though she is engaged to Ike Mattoon. All in all the book is a wonderful display of the segregated south and the attitudes the city and state had towards racial discrimination.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is great...., April 13, 2004

By 

Elizabeth Tyler (Overland Park, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quakertown (Paperback)

... for anyone who is interested in the true story of segregation in the 1920's. Althought the book is ficiton, Lee Martin creates the charaters as real as ever. From the father who knows all, to the daughter who is lovestruck and always in trouble, the book tells the magnificent story of a town in trouble. Quakertown is an all black neighborhood located in Texas. the whitefolks who reside in the town next to Quakertown have heard about the riots that are breaking out in other neighborhoods like Quakertown. The whites believe that they are the better men, their town is extremely segregated. The owners of businesses won't let black people try on clothes, drink from tehir water fountains, etc. Because of the riot rumors, the white folks decide that they are going to move Quakertown, houses and all to a patch of land further away. The black man who will help them accomplish this is Little Jones, the father of Camellia Jones. Little is the gardener of the town, and though he is black, has gained somewhat respect from the whitefolk. Camellia, who has fallen in love with the son of the town's bank president, becomes pregnant even though she is engaged to Ike Mattoon. All in all the book is a wonderful display of the segregated south and the attitudes the city and state had towards racial discrimination.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars realistic view of both sides of one coin, August 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Quakertown (Hardcover)

This is a great story, that will carry you away back to a time when everything appears black and white. But in this book he shows you how grey life really is. His characters are involving and easy to get to know. It certainly is war and peace. But you won't put it down until the end.