Song for Anniho [Hardcover]

Gayl Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

This exquisite book-length poem based closely on history and set in colonial Brazil, recounts the destruction of Palmares, the last of seven fugitive slave enclaves beset by the Portuguese. Amid the flight and re-enslavement of its inhabitants emerges the love store of Anninho and Almeyda, former African slaves.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gayl Jones was born in Kentucky in 1949. She attended Connecticut College and Brown University, and has taught a Wellesley College and the University of Michigan. Her other books include THE HEALING (1998 National Book Award Finalist and New York Times Notable Book of the Year) and many others.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807068543
• ISBN-13: 978-0807068540
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,906,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Jones Delivers Sorrow, November 8, 2000

By 

IsolaBlue (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Song for Anniho (Hardcover)

Narrated by Almeyda, a fugitive slave woman in Brazil in the late 1600s, this book is a departure for Jones as it is written in the form of a narrative poem. Fans of her fiction - books such as CORREGIDORA and EVA'S MAN may like it, however, as it conveys all of the pain and anger that Jones does so well. There is a dearth of beautiful language in this book, but it is rich in emotion as Almeyda tells the tale of her breasts that were sliced off by a Portuguese soldier, of her lover, Anninho, lost and presumed dead, and of the yearning and desire that permeates her life. Throughout the long poem, there is an undercurrent of danger. Sex is dangerous. Love is dangerous. Men are dangerous. All are desired, yet they all bring pain. Black men seem necessary for black women's lives, and white men, are, of course, a kind of death sentence. Jones' poetry is at its best when she is writing of connections between women or when penning anything remotely sensual. Song for Anninho is a book to read when one is in need of a sorrow greater than one's own.

2 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Exquisite and Original, August 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Song for Anniho (Hardcover)

I am so glad Beacon published a new addition of this lovely book. It is so powerful, beautiful and rare. A gem like this should never be out of print.