The Freelance Pallbearers (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: hoopla hoops, turkey musket, strange recipes, Fannie Mae, Bukka Doopeyduk, Black Bay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(Reed) ... is one of the most underrated writers in America. Certainly no other contemporary black writer ... has used the language and beliefs of folk culture so imaginatively, and few have been so stinging about the absurdity of American racism" -- New York Review of Books

"A great writer." -- James Baldwin

"For all the talk of the black aesthetic, few black novelists have broken sharply with the traditional devices of the realistic novel. One writer who departs from such conventions, however, is Ishmael Reed. . . . The Free-Lance Pallbearers uses an explosive combination of straightforward English prose, exaggerated black dialect, hip jargon, advertising slogans and long, howling uppercase screams." -- Robert Gross, Newsweek, 6/16/69

"Reed's gift is for the outrageous, for giving vivid expression to cultural controversies very much in the air. . . . He is one of the most underrated writers in America. Certainly no other contemporary black writer, male or female, has used language and beliefs of folk culture so imaginatively, and few have been so stinging about the absurdity of American racism." -- New York Review of Books, 10/12/89

"Reed's hero serves as a weird telescope for a society that is terrifying for its violence and passive hypocrisy, yet somehow hilarious as well .... If comparisons are to be made, they should be to Burroughs, but this novel is all Mr. Reed's own. Read it!" -- The Nation

"[A] wildly provocative young Negro writer anxious to create an uproarious uproar . . . Ishmael Reed can hardly be called a camp follower. His novel inverts conventional attitudes for sustained comic effect; his feints are brilliant and his punches swift." -- Martin Tucker, Commonweal

Product Description

Ishmael Reed's electrifying first novel zooms readers off to a land they have never heard of, a crazy, ominous kingdom called HARRY SAM--a never-never land so weirdly out-of-whack that only reality itself could be stranger. Venturing into this risky realm of a thousand contradictions is the quixotic Bukka Doopeyduk, a crusading, liberal fellow who is eager--if not always ready--to face the dangers of life. And dangers abound. Jousting and colliding with a macabre carousel of cops and beatniks, Elks and Black Muslims, he suffers a series of cockeyed misfortunes--maddening, saddening, and wildly uproarious. The Free-Lance Pallbearers fires a volley of savage torpedoes at the world's absurdities. Its rollicking language and blasphemous humor hide a merciless message.

Product Details

• Paperback: 155 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press; 1st Dalkey Archive Ed edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564782255
• ISBN-13: 978-1564782250
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #81,694 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very funny satire, April 6, 2000

By	Sylveste (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This book is a wonderful satire of race relations in the sixties. It is also extremely funny. I often found myself laughing out loud as I was reading it. It provides a nice contrast with much of the African-American literature from this time period. Its style is a bit intimidating at first, but after a few pages it becomes easy reading. I highly recommend checking it out.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable, August 28, 2002

By	Odu "Odu" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

I read this book as a teenager in the 80's and never forgot it. I often end up telling everyone I know about it eventually. I decided to use a search engine to find the name of the author and was surprised to learn the name and a little about the writer Ishmael Reed. I plan to buy a second copy and donate it to the library. This book is hilarious. The main thing is that it introduced me to the satire genre. my own sense of humor is similar. I am encouraged as a wannabe writer.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Service but bad book, April 22, 2009

By	S. Malik - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

the quality of the book i received was brand new and speedy delivery, but don't read this book, its just awful and stupid.