The Stone that the Builder Refused: A Novel [Hardcover]

Madison Smartt Bell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2004

The Stone that the Builder Refused is the final volume of Madison Smartt Bell’s masterful trilogy about the Haitian Revolution–the first successful slave revolution in history–which begins with All Souls' Rising (a finalist for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award) and continues with Master of the Crossroads.  Each of these three novels can be read independently of the two others; of the trilogy, The Baltimore Sun has said, “[It] will make an indelible mark on literary history–one worthy of occupying the same shelf as Tolstoy’s War and Peace.”

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers unfamiliar with the previous books in Bell's Haitian rebellion trilogy might feel like latecomers to an intense, raucous party in the first hundred pages of this final installment. Multiple characters and backstories form a somewhat opaque context for the events of 1802, when a French army commanded by Napoleon's brother-in-law, Leclerc, landed in Haiti (then called Saint Domingue) in an attempt to overthrow Toussaint's government and gradually restore slavery. The book moves from the burning of the town of Cap Francais—ordered by one of Toussaint's generals, Christophe, in response to Leclerc's demand to submit—to the war in the Haitian countryside, ending with Toussaint's unexpected surrender and his betrayal by Leclerc and Touissant's black generals Dessalines, Christophe and Maurepas. With a panoramic vision of battle reminiscent of Shelby Foote, Bell recreates the devastating counterstrokes the black generals devised against the French at Ravine à Couleuvre and La Crête à Pierrot. Through it all, he retains as a narrative anchor Doctor Hébert, who operates in both the worlds of the blanc and the nèg. Bell intercuts scenes of the war in Haiti with Toussaint's terrible last days in a French jail in the Jura Mountains. This lends an air of unbearable pathos to this tangled, tragic history. In exploring the line between atrocity and liberation, Bell's novel is unexpectedly and powerfully relevant to our times.
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From Bookmarks Magazine

In two previous books, Bell introduced Toussaint and charted the bloody events that gave birth to a nation. The Stone continues this saga. More than one critic compared the historical novel’s dramatic battle scenes and impressive historical sweep to War and Peace. Though long, the sheer energy and humanity of the characters (both real and fictional), not to mention the novel’s relevance to atrocities today, propel the narrative forward. Appendices, including a chronology of events, Creole glossary, and real correspondence between Toussaint and Napoleon, round out the backstory. You may need some knowledge of Haiti’s violent history to grasp each detail. Still, critics unanimously praise The Stone as "a spectacular achievement" (Miami Herald).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Pantheon; First Edition edition (November 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037542282X
• ISBN-13: 978-0375422829
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.8 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #728,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a depressing conclusion to an excellent story, January 3, 2005

By 

Henry Scott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stone that the Builder Refused: A Novel (Hardcover)

I had read the first 2 books of this trilogy and looked forward to the third with a great deal of anticipation. After a hundred pages, however, I felt a sinking sensation as I realized that this story could not possibly have a happy ending. Bell had done such an excellent job realizing his characters that I felt deeply involved in their lives. After the horrendous atrocities of slavery and the slave revolts and subsequent battles, it seemed that the island was finally at some sort of peace.
But what a price! Then as the French arrived to re-assert their primacy and General Louveture succumbs to hubris the precarious peace falls apart and the bloodshed begins again with blacks against whites.
This last book completes the trilogy and tells a story that few of us know anything about. Haiti is a huge mystery to me and these books helped me understand a little why this country is the way it is. The legacy of slavery and the battles that were required to end it as well as the enduring suspicians between white and black are lessons for all of us even at this time (maybe particularly at this time).

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Great Series Of Historical Novels., December 22, 2004

By 

Jim R. "thevulgarian" (Portland, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone that the Builder Refused: A Novel (Hardcover)

The three novels in this series are the best historical novels I have ever read. They deal with a horrifying event, the slave rebellion in Haiti. Bell does not flinch from the horrors the contending groups and individuals inflicted on each other. The historical background is well covered in the plot and appendix. Written by a master novelist. Bell also covers fascinating subjects like the Voodoo mythos that still exists in Haiti today. Reading this novel, one begins to understand the chaos of Haiti today. A country born in this much bloodshed and hatred is destined for more. In terms of gallons of blood spilled, our own revolution was a mere skirmish.

If you are at all interested in Haiti, race, relations, history, or just reading a good story, you should read this and the other two novels in the series, All Souls Rising and The Master Of The Crossroads.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably good!!, September 18, 2009

By 

TropicalDoc (Coeur d'Alene ID USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Stone that the Builder Refused (Paperback)

This book was a masterful finish to a fantastic trilogy! If the subject were not somewhat obscure I am certain this series of books would be already be an American classic. I am so thankful for Professor Bell's exhaustive research and unparalleled writing skills. He brings the Haitian revolution to life. I have traveled back and forth to Haiti over the past 20 years and I will never look at the country or it's people in the same way! His development of characters and the seamless flow between chapters kept me in avid anticipation of my nightly reads. I am lost at the moment for what to read next!! If you want to understand the fierce national pride of the Haitian people this is a must read! Thank you Professor Bell!!!