The Book of Harlan
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.23 (998 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1909762431 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 491 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 0000-00-00 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Very intriguing premise, very dull and basic execution Rod Hines I am a fan of Bernice L. McFadden, having read the novels Sugar and Nowhere is a Place. The Book of Harlan was a very quick read that did not live up to the expectations I had based on reading the description of the novel. The novel graced over so many historical events and included many historical figures to the point where much of that material did not aid in propelling the plot forward so much as it made the plot feel rushed and just full of fluff. I fe. "An epic journey" according to Countess Olenska. Bernice McFadden is like an orchestra conductor. Her stories are symphonies. As readers, we don't always know where they're going, and sometimes we are so caught up in the music that we forget she's there in the front, holding everything together. But by the end of the novel, we realize just what a tremendous thing she's just done. It's no accident that one of her recent books was called _Gathering of Waters_. She is a master gatherer, one who weaves toget. Ash said The Saga of Harlan. This novel wonders around a single family's history and those who happened to cross that family's path. And in that family a son is born, and that son is Harlan. Harlan is a sorry piece of work, due to his sorry parents, and very easy to dislike. But then he is captured by Nazis during WWII, and the audience feels a little sorry for Harlan. And then we quickly go back to hating him. But Harlan gets a chance, many years later, to redeem himself. And he does
Hire a chorus to chant it to you and anyone else interested in hearing about civil rights and uncivil desires."--Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered (NPR). "Hidden history comes alive in this novel about an African American man from Georgia who became a musician in Harlem, played in Paris, lived through the horrors of the Buchenwald concentration camp, and spent his final years in the turmoil of the 1960s."--World Wide Work"Spanning six decades, readers are taken on a journey from the upper class home of an upstanding preacher to the outskirts of the Harlem Renaissance, crossing the ocean to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany and winding its way back to black pride and a humble Brooklyn dwelling. Like I said, McFadden does a lot. McFadden:"McFadden has created a magical, fantastic novelThis is a startling, beautifully written piece of work."--Dennis Lehane, author of World Gone By"McFadden works a kind of miracle--not only do her charac
Based on exhaustive research and told in McFadden's mesmeric prose, The Book of Harlan skillfully blends the stories of McFadden's familial ancestors with those of real and imagined characters.. After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where he eventually becomes a professional musician. But after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into Buchenwald - the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany - irreparably changing the course of Harlan's life. The Book of Harlan opens with the courtship of Harlan's parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia. When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisi