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Title: A Million Nightingales
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Manufacturer: Anchor
List Price: $13.95
Our Price: $6.25
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| A Million Nightingales by Anchor POWERFUL! | Set in Louisiana, in the 1800s, this is a heart-wrenching and gut-churning tale of the inhumanity of slavery. Centered around the life experiences of a mulatresse (half white, half black) girl, Moinette, until she reaches her early fifties.
Moinette is the only child of Marie-Therese, an African slave who had been "bred" with a white man that Moinette never met or knew as her father. "Bred" because the blacks were considered animals whose only value was to produce more slaves for their masters to work in the fields or in the house. But this story is told in first person, with such intelligence and tenderness that the reader can't help but become fascinated and drawn into the story. Moinette is raised in her mother's sparse cabin, but is content to just be with her mother.
As a teenager, Moinette is the servant to the Bordelon's daughter, Cephaline. While Cephaline was being tutored, Moinette was always nearby absorbing the information and even learning (illegal for slaves). When Cephaline dies young, her father sells Moinette because he could not stand that his beautiful daughter was gone, yet this unworthy slave girl was the picture of health.
At first, Moinette hates and distrusts her new single owner, and feels certain he will force himself on her unexpectedly and repeatedly. When this doesn't happen, and he leaves her to run his boardinghouse, a delicate bond is formed. When his male business partner moves in, Moinette sees their affection and respects their privacy. Using her as cover for their relationship, they eventually give her the boardinghouse and her freedom.
Raped more than once, Moinette produces a son. So much hard work and sorrow have filled her life, yet she keeps trying to better herself. At age 30 she is an old woman, used hard but not used up.
A Million Nightingales is told with such tenderness and candor, and resonates long after the book is finished. The author's delicate storytelling skills wrap the reader in the cocoon that is Moinette's life. The violence will rock the emotions, and the few glimpses of happiness will tug the heartstrings. This story educates as well as entertains.
Armchair Interviews says: A very moving and yet disturbing piece. | | A Million Nightingales by Anchor Sort of depressing, but a good read | | I was hooked into the story in the first few pages and kept on reading. This isn't a fairy tale so not really any neatly tied up strings - kept me guessing until the end. The author gives some references for her inspiration and I plan on checking them out. | | A Million Nightingales by Anchor Elegantly Written With Gripping Story!! | | Should really rate 5 stars. This was a wonderful book which not only held my interest, made me cheer on the heroine [much like Celie], but also made me ashamed of our past. I immediately purchased Susan Straight's "Highwire Moon." [Haven't yet read this...I look forward to readng this.] I immediately passed this along to a friend & am recommending it to co-workers, etc. A terrific read -- enjoy! | | A Million Nightingales by Anchor A million annoyances... | I just couldn't get into this book. The plot dragged on and on with little action, unless you count the description of Cephaline's "boutons" and Moinette picking and chewing on her hands/fingers and fiddling with coffee beans and clothespins. I didn't care what happened to her at all, and decided not to finish the book. If a book doesn't draw me in by the first 100 pages, it's getting returned to the library.
| | A Million Nightingales by Anchor To say it is powerful is an understatement | | I have not read a book this profoundly moving in a long, long time. I read books all the time--good books, bad books, mediocre books, books my friends have written--and with each book I read, my heart yearns for something that is as exquisitely written as A Million Nightingales. Every book Susan Straight has written has been thoughtfully, creatively rendered. I have read and loved all of them. But this one, by far, will be placed on my list of favorite books of all time. The words of the text sing like a lyrical psalm of outcry to god for the grief of children, for the grief of mothers, for the grief of souls separated by cruelty and greed. This book will touch the heart of anyone who believes that we must be reminded of true things, even if they are painful, so that we can move forward instead of repeating the past. A Million Nightingales is not a chronicle of hate, but rather an anthem of love. | | A Million Nightingales by Anchor Product Description | From National Book Award finalist Susan Straight comes a haunting historical novel about a Louisiana slave girl's perilous journey to freedom.
Daughter of an African mother and a white father she never knew, Moinette is a house maid on a plantation south of New Orleans. At fourteen she is sold, separated from her mother without a chance to say goodbye. Bright, imaginative and well aware of everything she risks, Moinette at once begins to prepare for an opportunity to escape. Inspired by a true story, A Million Nightingales portrays Moinette’s experience–and the treacherous world she must navigate–with uncommon richness, intricacy, and drama. |
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