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The Stone that the Builder Refused Paperback – February 14, 2006
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length768 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherVintage
- Publication dateFebruary 14, 2006
- Dimensions5.23 x 1.36 x 7.97 inches
- ISBN-101400076188
- ISBN-13978-1400076185
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“A towering work. . . . Bell has emerged as one of the most brilliant, artistic and daring historical novelists of our time. . . . He has created that rarest of works, a masterpiece.”–Chicago Tribune
"Glows with unquenchable life. . . . Just as characters in The Stone are possessed by the lwa--spirits who guide souls--so too has Bell opened to the spirits of his characters, imagined and real." --Los Angeles Times
“Spellbinding. . . . Skillfully executed. . . . The author’s portrait of Toussaint is astounding in its intensity, complexity and detail.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Must be considered among the most important artistic accomplishments of our . . . century. . . . Could easily cement Bell’s reputation as one of his generation’s greatest authors.” —San Francisco Chronicle
From the Back Cover
In 1791, what would become known as the Haitian Revolution began as a rebellion of African slaves against their white masters in the French colony of Saint Domingue. By 1793 Toussaint had emerged as the leader of the revolt, proving himself to be as adept at politics as he was on the battlefield. By 1801 he had succeeded in stabilizing the war-ravaged territory and invited exiled white planters, whose expertise was needed, to return and reclaim their properties. The foundation of a society based on liberty, genuine equality, and brotherhood among whites, blacks, and mulattos seemed in place. But the proclamation of a new constitution that abolished slavery and appointed Toussaint governor for life incited Napoleon to dispatch troops in order to reestablish control over the island.
The Stone That the Builder Refused spans the final phase of Toussaint's career and paints an astonish-ingly detailed and riveting portrait of a new society breaking forth from the chrysalis of a revolution, of the vision that impelled Toussaint to create a society based on principle and idealism, and of the dreadful compromises he was forced to make in order to
preserve it.
A masterly weave of the factual and the imagined, this grand culmination of Bell's landmark Toussaint Louverture trilogy stands alone as a towering achievement of historical fiction.
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Product details
- Publisher : Vintage (February 14, 2006)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 768 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1400076188
- ISBN-13 : 978-1400076185
- Item Weight : 1.18 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.23 x 1.36 x 7.97 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,306,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,241 in Biographical Fiction (Books)
- #11,335 in War Fiction (Books)
- #56,930 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Madison Smartt Bell is a critically acclaimed writer of more than a dozen novels and story collections, as well as numerous essays and reviews for publications such as Harper’s and the New York Times Book Review. His books have been finalists for both the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, among other honors.
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My only problem with this book is that it ends so abruptly. Of course, how does one end the story that is still taking place today? But it would have been nice to have a more solid of an ending.
And for the guy who says he could tell the story wasn't going to end well (an earlier review), I wonder how he would have preferred for it to end?
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.
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).
Top reviews from other countries
Much interest in reading again now that the earthquake happened.
Good history lesson.






