Five Smooth Stones: A Novel (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A courageous novel . . . David is a marvelously well-done character."  —Library Journal

“A long and richly realized novel . . . Ann Fairbairn renders her scenes so skillfully and reveals her hero so fully that [his] qualities are transformed from desirable abstractions to a memorable identity. . . The numerous people characterized so clearly in this novel are ‘mortal humans.’ That is rare enough in any fiction dealing with one of the bone-deep issues of our time.” —The New York Times Book Review

"No matter how large Ann Fairbairn’s audience is, it won’t be large enough . . . Technically Miss Fairbairn is flawless . . . David Champlin is a great tragic hero in a memorable story."  —Denver Post

“Every so often along comes the big book that defies categorization . . . It has real size, stature . . . Above all, it rings true . . . You may put it down, but you can’t forget it. You have to come back. Such is the case with Five Smooth Stones.”  —Springfield Daily News

Product Description

This gripping bestseller, first published in 1966, has continued to captivate readers with its wide-ranging yet intimate portrait of an America sundered by racial conflict. David Champlin is a black man born into poverty in Depression-era New Orleans who makes his way up the ladder of success, only to sacrifice everything to lead his people in the civil rights movement. Sara Kent is the white girl who loves David from the moment she first sees him, and who struggles against his belief that a marriage for them would be wrong in the violent world he has to confront. And the “five smooth stones” are those the biblical David carried against Goliath. By the time this novel comes to its climax of horror, bloodshed, and hope, readers will be convinced that its enduring popularity is fully justified.

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Product Details Paperback: 768 pages Publisher: Chicago Review Press (April 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 1556528159 ISBN-13: 978-1556528156 Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.6 inches Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,981 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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	92% buy the item featured on this page: Five Smooth Stones: A Novel 4.8 out of 5 stars (96) $12.89
	4% buy Five Smooth Stones 4.8 out of 5 stars (6)
	2% buy The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Random House Reader's Circle) 4.5 out of 5 stars (989) $8.40
	1% buy The Help 4.8 out of 5 stars (1,098) $13.72

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Customer Reviews

96 Reviews 5 star:  (88) 4 star:  (4) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (2) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.8 out of 5 stars (96 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The First Book I Really Read, August 27, 1999 By A Customer This review is from: Five Smooth Stones (Library Binding) My mother read this book and recommended that I read it too. At the time I was not a person that read for pleasure... so when the monster Five Smooth Stones was plopped onto my table, you can imagine my response! For some reason I picked it up, started reading, and could not put it down until I was done! I had to have my own copy because it meant so much to me, not just because I actually finished it, but because David became a member of my family! I cried at his graduations like I was his mother and ached for his trials and suffering! I morned the loss of this book when I completed it. The book was out of print at the time, but found a copy at a rare book shop. I am thrilled that it is in reprint and available! It should be a must read for high schoolers, college students, all human kind. Because of this book, I now read like a crazy woman. And I agree, this should be a movie for all to see and to encourage all to read! 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe this isn't in print anymore!, January 10, 1998 By A Customer This review is from: Five Smooth Stones (Library Binding) I read this book for a high school English assignment; it was the most enjoyable homework I have ever had! It has been a long time since characters in a book have had the kind of impact on me that those in FIVE SMOOTH STONES did. Ann Fairbairn does a magnificent job of inviting the reader into the people's lives to experience the hatred, bewilderment, or passion they each feel. Many times I wanted to jump in and yell, "It's not fair," whenever David, a lawyer from the south who fights for his people's rights, gets into trouble or others pick on him because he is black. A boy growing up in New Orleans during the depression, David faces the challenges of attending a school in the north with whites, fighting for equality, and maintaining a long-lasting love with a white girl. It is really saying something about a book when the author creates such a believable, true-to-life story and evokes such heart-rending emotion from the readers that they are appalled and stricken at the end! THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT!! 12 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Has Given Me New Perspectives, September 23, 2003 By  Minimoo's Mom (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews This review is from: Five Smooth Stones (Library Binding) I picked this book up not sure of how I would enjoy it. At first I was a bit offended by the racial slurs towards the whites but as I explored the book further I was appalled at the bigotry of (especially) the southern whites. I never realized the deep chasm between our cultures and my heart cried as I read the plight of the black people only trying to get HUMAN rights in this country. This is one of the most well written books I have read and it has given me an insight into the black community that I would otherwise never have seen nor learned. This should be a must-read for our young people.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed Disappointed in actual quality of novel. Was advertised in "very good condition" yet had a coffee cup ring/stain right on the front cover and about 1/8th of the back cover was... Read more Published 1 month ago by Crystal G. Dalgleish 5.0 out of 5 stars Can't believe I can get a copy of this! Five Smooth Stones was a guilty read when I snuck it off my older sister's shelf back in the early seventies. Read more Published 2 months ago by DJ Penn 5.0 out of 5 stars Better late than never I bought Five Smooth Stones when it was first offered by a book club, probably Doubleday. I have carried it around while I moved from one teaching position to another in several... Read more Published 4 months ago by Laura A. Martin 4.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stones I received the book in great condition! It took longer then I would have liked to get to me. Published 5 months ago by S. Tuers 5.0 out of 5 stars Race I read this book 39 years ago -- don't know whatever happened to my original copy but bought another so I could read it again. Wonderful story. Read more Published 6 months ago by Renee Schroeder 5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent period piece. Having read this book while in Vietnam in the 60's I found it to be a realistic assessment of what African Americans had to live through in America during and before that period... Read more Published 12 months ago by Andrew T. Davis 5.0 out of 5 stars A Work of True Genius That Touches the Heart This book and the story within it are kept close to my heart. When I first read it 30 or so years ago I ingested each and every word, and David and Sara became friends and family... Read more Published 13 months ago by Suzanne Giaimo 1.0 out of 5 stars Bigotry Is Still Bigotry I read this book in graduate school 35 years ago at a critical time in my life. I was attracted to its themes of racial harmony and fighting oppression. Read more Published 14 months ago by John T. Farrell 5.0 out of 5 stars This Book also has remained in my heart for all these years. I read this book many years ago and have never forgot it. I am buying a copy and reading it again. I want to see if I still have the same reaction to it as I did than. Read more Published 19 months ago by M. Marr 5.0 out of 5 stars Complexities of our relationships The reality of all of our existneces is that they're complex. Five Smooth Stones is a stellar presentation and a fascinating read reviewing the intricacies and nuances entailed... Read more Published 19 months ago by Zen Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 768 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556528159
• ISBN-13: 978-1556528156
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,981 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Book I Really Read, August 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Smooth Stones (Library Binding)

My mother read this book and recommended that I read it too. At the time I was not a person that read for pleasure... so when the monster Five Smooth Stones was plopped onto my table, you can imagine my response! For some reason I picked it up, started reading, and could not put it down until I was done! I had to have my own copy because it meant so much to me, not just because I actually finished it, but because David became a member of my family! I cried at his graduations like I was his mother and ached for his trials and suffering! I morned the loss of this book when I completed it. The book was out of print at the time, but found a copy at a rare book shop. I am thrilled that it is in reprint and available! It should be a must read for high schoolers, college students, all human kind. Because of this book, I now read like a crazy woman. And I agree, this should be a movie for all to see and to encourage all to read!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't believe this isn't in print anymore!, January 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Smooth Stones (Library Binding)

I read this book for a high school English assignment; it was the most enjoyable homework I have ever had! It has been a long time since characters in a book have had the kind of impact on me that those in FIVE SMOOTH STONES did. Ann Fairbairn does a magnificent job of inviting the reader into the people's lives to experience the hatred, bewilderment, or passion they each feel. Many times I wanted to jump in and yell, "It's not fair," whenever David, a lawyer from the south who fights for his people's rights, gets into trouble or others pick on him because he is black. A boy growing up in New Orleans during the depression, David faces the challenges of attending a school in the north with whites, fighting for equality, and maintaining a long-lasting love with a white girl. It is really saying something about a book when the author creates such a believable, true-to-life story and evokes such heart-rending emotion from the readers that they are appalled and stricken at the end! THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT!!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Has Given Me New Perspectives, September 23, 2003

By	Minimoo's Mom (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Smooth Stones (Library Binding)

I picked this book up not sure of how I would enjoy it. At first I was a bit offended by the racial slurs towards the whites but as I explored the book further I was appalled at the bigotry of (especially) the southern whites. I never realized the deep chasm between our cultures and my heart cried as I read the plight of the black people only trying to get HUMAN rights in this country. This is one of the most well written books I have read and it has given me an insight into the black community that I would otherwise never have seen nor learned. This should be a must-read for our young people.