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4.0 

The Book of Night Women

By Marlon James
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

From the author of the National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf and the WINNER of the 2015 Man Booker Prize for A Brief History of Seven Killings

"An undeniable success.” — The New York Times Book Review

A true triumph of voice and storytelling, The Book of Night Women rings with both profound authenticity and a distinctly contemporary energy. It is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they- and she-will come to both revere and fear. The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age they see her as the key to their plans. But when she begins to understand her own feelings, desires, and identity, Lilith starts to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman, and risks becoming the conspiracy's weak link. But the real revelation of the book-the secret to the stirring imagery and insistent prose-is Marlon James himself, a young writer at once breath­takingly daring and wholly in command of his craft.

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418 Reviews

4.0
Red Angry Face“This book took me way longer than it normally takes me to finish a book. I struggled with it for several reasons; the vulgarity, the slow pace, the dialect, and the overall writing style were not to my liking. While I get that it was necessary, after all, it is our reality and as a Caribbean woman, I understand that, however, the book still did not capture me in the ways I would have liked it to on such topics as serious and meaningful as slavery and rebellion.  Lilith was insufferable, but who knows what we would be if placed under such circumstances? Mr. James highlights how far we have come as a people and yet still how far we need to go. He continuously echoed… "Every negro walk in a circle. Take that and make of it what you will…" As a lover of historical fiction, I am left feeling a tad bit disappointed but also overweening in the fact that pinnacled in the book was that women are truly the real leaders. I’ll reread the book at a later point and see if my review changes.”
Loudly Crying Face“The raw, poetic prose and use of dialect make the novel feel intensely real. Though the violence is difficult to endure, the story is deeply moving, exploring resistance, identity, and survival. It’s not an easy read, but it’s an unforgettable one.”

About Marlon James

Marlon James was born in Jamaica in 1970. His most recent novel is A Brief History of Seven Killings, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize. He is also the author of The Book of Night Women, which won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Minnesota Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction and an NAACP Image Award. His first novel, John Crow’s Devil, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. James lives in Minneapolis.

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