novel, foreword by Ralph Ellison, incl new chapter
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
Set in rural Mississippi, this novel follows young Nathaniel Witherspoon as he journeys home for his mother's funeral and ends up pondering not only her untimely death but also the origins of his own existence. Told through a series of painful yet vivid reminiscences, it is a story that provides a breathtaking view of the human experience, filled with humor and pathos.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Born and raised in Chicago, Leon Forrest (1937-1997) taught English and African-American Studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of a collection of essays entitled The Furious Voice for Freedom, as well as numerous novels, including Two Wings to Veil My Face, winner of four literary awards, Divine Days, and Meteor in the Madhouse.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As fine a book as you'll find,
By
This review is from: There Is a Tree More Ancient Than Eden (Paperback)
For several years this book was lost, and then it had a resurgence as it was reprinted in 1998. Now it seems to have faded once again, which is understandable. It's dense and difficult to read and Leon Forrest never had a critic to champion his cause the way Ishmael Reed had Henry Louis Gates. That said, let's keep it our little secret. People don't write books like this anymore, which is the loss of readers everywhere. First published in 1973, the book has the slimmest of plots but its imagery and emotional intensity hold it together. It's postmodern and human at the same time. It's a book that defies easy description, and its best summary is the book itself.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence:
Nathaniel (Turner) Witherspoon; 1937. Even in the crucifying summer of that fateful year, when young manhood washed off old skin like afterbirth, leaving scabs and river-deep wounds, before Mother took flight, or before Father took her; even after their marriage had failed and he had said before her actual leave-taking: "I lost my wife"; even though he had become addicted to his bourbon and tried to inject enough insulin into his veins to absorb it and his grief; even then this sire of the kingdom of my blood (the wild brandy blood, the wild hair upon my arms), this mulatto who hated his grandfather even as his own father had, steeled me with Frederick Douglass and Shakespeare. . . . Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
auntie breedlove, uncle dupont, dying lamb, eyes eyes eyes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Roy Bobby Brown, Hilda Mae, Sweetie Reed, White House, Aunt Hattie, University President, Lovelady Breedlove, President Johnson, Forest County, Jean Harlow, Joe Louis Theater, Wild Helen, Martin Luther King, Viet Nam New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Nathaniel (Turner) Witherspoon; 1937. Even in the crucifying summer of that fateful year, when young manhood washed off old skin like afterbirth, leaving scabs and river-deep wounds, before Mother took flight, or before Father took her; even after their marriage had failed and he had said before her actual leave-taking: "I lost my wife"; even though he had become addicted to his bourbon and tried to inject enough insulin into his veins to absorb it and his grief; even then this sire of the kingdom of my blood (the wild brandy blood, the wild hair upon my arms), this mulatto who hated his grandfather even as his own father had, steeled me with Frederick Douglass and Shakespeare. . . . Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
auntie breedlove, uncle dupont, dying lamb, eyes eyes eyes Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Roy Bobby Brown, Hilda Mae, Sweetie Reed, White House, Aunt Hattie, University President, Lovelady Breedlove, President Johnson, Forest County, Jean Harlow, Joe Louis Theater, Wild Helen, Martin Luther King, Viet Nam New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 9
books:
See all 9 books this book cites
11
books
cite this book:
See all 11 books citing this book
- Inside Out by Rod N. Johnson on page 192
- Meteor in the Madhouse by Leon Forrest in Front Matter
- Divine Days by Leon Forrest in Front Matter
- Two Wings to Veil My Face by Leon Forrest in Front Matter
- The Sound and the Fury: The Corrected Text with Faulkner's Appendix (Modern Library of the World's Best Books) by William Faulkner in Front Matter
See all 9 books this book cites
- Speaking for You: The Vision of Ralph Ellison by Hollie West in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Bloodworth Orphans (Phoenix Fiction) by Leon Forrest in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- In the African-American Grain: Call-and-Response in Twentieth-Century Black Fiction by John F. Callahan in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- Teaching African American Literature: Theory and Practice (Transforming Teaching) by Maryemma Graham in Back Matter
- Rooted in the Chants of Slaves, Blacks in the Humanities, 1985-1997 by Donald Franklin Joyce on page 121
See all 11 books citing this book
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
