*THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE'A rhapsodic hymn to Black women' New York Times Book Review'Epic yet intimate' Cosmopolitan'Ferocious and compassionate' Irish TimesFAMILY CAN HOLD YOU TOGETHER. AND TEAR YOU APART.Joan was only a child the last time she visited Memphis. She doesn't remember the bustle of Beale Street or the smell of honeysuckle as she climbs the porch steps to her aunt's house. But when the front door opens, she does remember her cousin Derek. As Joan learns more about her family's past she discovers she's not the only North woman to have experienced great hurt. But she also sees their resilience and courage, how these extraordinary women fry green tomatoes and braid hair and sing all the while.Joan can't change the past, but she can change her future. It's time to find her own song to sing.**** READERS LOVE MEMPHIS ****'I couldn't put it down. You will fall in love with these women''One of the best books I've ever read''Utterly spellbinding''This book has my entire heart''It felt so real - I cried at their pain and smiled at their joy''Intricately plotted, wildly satisfying''Epic, in every sense of the word. It completely blew me away'
Format: CONTRIBUTORS: Tara M StringfellowEAN: 9781529339246COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 340 gHEIGHT: 232 cm
PUBLISHED BY: John Murray PressDATE PUBLISHED: 2022-04-07CITY: GENRE: FICTION / Family Life / General, FICTION / African American & Black / Women, FICTION / African American & Black / HistoricalWIDTH: 152 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Memphis, c 1954 to c 1968 (era of the American Civil Rights Movement), Relating to African American / Black American people, Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, Family life fiction
If ever there was a novel that reflects how the past can shape us, and how we can change our own story, it is this stunning debut . . . this beautifully written, inspiring story is full of hope and memorable characters, I fell in love with this book and its characters . . . I can't wait to read more from this author, Written with the grace of a poet, Memphis is as hopeful as it is heartbreaking. I fell in love with this family, from Joan's fierce heart to her grandmother Hazel's determined resilience. Tara Stringfellow will be an author to watch for years to come . . . A stellar debut, In luminous, lyrical prose, Tara Stringfellow sings the song of the North women - and the North men - with wisdom, humor, and deep humanity. Memphis is an American epic, a tribute to life in all of its sorrow and joyful resilience, An evocative, compelling tale . . . Tara M Stringfellow assembles an endearing and unforgettable cast of characters who find strength in vulnerability, safety in art, and liberation in telling the truth. This is a shining, splendid testimony in the vein of Gloria Naylor, Delores Phillips, Ayana Mathis, and Honorée Jeffers
Poet, former attorney, Northwestern University MFA graduate, and semifinalist for the Fulbright Fellowship, Tara M Stringfellow has written for Collective Unrest, Minerva Rising, Jet Fuel Review, Women Arts Quarterly Journal and Apogee Journal, among other publications. After having lived in Okinawa, Ghana, Chicago, Cuba, Spain, Italy, and Washington, D.C., she moved back home to Memphis, where she sits on her porch swing with her hound, Huckleberry, every evening, listening to records and chatting with neighbours.
*THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER*LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONSHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE'A rhapsodic hymn to Black women' New York Times Book Review'Epic yet intimate' Cosmopolitan'Ferocious and compassionate' Irish TimesFAMILY CAN HOLD YOU TOGETHER. AND TEAR YOU APART.Joan was only a child the last time she visited Memphis. She doesn't remember the bustle of Beale Street or the smell of honeysuckle as she climbs the porch steps to her aunt's house. But when the front door opens, she does remember her cousin Derek. As Joan learns more about her family's past she discovers she's not the only North woman to have experienced great hurt. But she also sees their resilience and courage, how these extraordinary women fry green tomatoes and braid hair and sing all the while.Joan can't change the past, but she can change her future. It's time to find her own song to sing.**** READERS LOVE MEMPHIS ****'I couldn't put it down. You will fall in love with these women''One of the best books I've ever read''Utterly spellbinding''This book has my entire heart''It felt so real - I cried at their pain and smiled at their joy''Intricately plotted, wildly satisfying''Epic, in every sense of the word. It completely blew me away'
Format: CONTRIBUTORS: Tara M StringfellowEAN: 9781529339246COUNTRY: United KingdomPAGES: WEIGHT: 340 gHEIGHT: 232 cm
PUBLISHED BY: John Murray PressDATE PUBLISHED: 2022-04-07CITY: GENRE: FICTION / Family Life / General, FICTION / African American & Black / Women, FICTION / African American & Black / HistoricalWIDTH: 152 cmSPINE:
Book Themes:
Memphis, c 1954 to c 1968 (era of the American Civil Rights Movement), Relating to African American / Black American people, Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, Family life fiction
Poet, former attorney, Northwestern University MFA graduate, and semifinalist for the Fulbright Fellowship, Tara M Stringfellow has written for Collective Unrest, Minerva Rising, Jet Fuel Review, Women Arts Quarterly Journal and Apogee Journal, among other publications. After having lived in Okinawa, Ghana, Chicago, Cuba, Spain, Italy, and Washington, D.C., she moved back home to Memphis, where she sits on her porch swing with her hound, Huckleberry, every evening, listening to records and chatting with neighbours.
'n Erfplaas met 'n befoeterde bestuurder is 'n uitdaging
Ek kom soms aan die einde van ’n boek sonder om die titel werklik te verstaan binne die konteks van die storielyn. Die teenoorgestelde is waar van Zinèt Oosthuizen se nuutste Romanza. Reeds op bladsy 16 lees ek van Karoo-koors, “die Karoomense se vriendelikheid, die liefde vir die area en hulle bereidwilligheid om te help.”
Dariyah verloor haar geliefde oom en haar ma tesame in ’n voertuigongeluk. Sy erf die plaas, Addersholte, in die Noord-Kaap. Daar loop sy haar vas in ’n ongeskikte plaasbestuurder wat ’n vyfjaarkontrak het en geen vriendelikheid teenoor haar openbaar nie. Sou ek een van die elemente van romanses, naamlik konflik, in isolasie moes beoordeel, sou hierdie twee karakters beslis volpunte kry.
Tekens van jaloesie by beide partye, en ’n soen in ’n welkome reënbui, is aanduidend van gevoelens wat vir hulle nuut is. Dit gee ook die versekering dat die konflik uiteindelik bygelê gaan word en die liefde gaan seëvier.
Karoo-koors is in Augustus vanjaar deur Lapa Uitgewers gepubliseer
Daar word dikwels bespiegel oor treffende openingsinne, maar hier lees ek nou vandag ’n slotsin wat vir my besonder treffend is en goeie lig werp op die pad waarlangs die heldin moes loop om heling en liefde te vind. “En vir die eerste keer glo sy werklik dat haar toekoms sterker as haar verlede is.” (p.187)
Isobel Raadt het ’n stem soos die spreekwoordelike engel, en ’n ewe mooi geaardheid, ’n traumatiese gebeurtenis ten spyt. Musiekvervaardiger, Markus Meyer, worstel om te aanvaar dat daar meer steek in sy belangstelling in Isobel as net ’n potensiële kontrak om te skryf en ’n nuwe sanger om te bestuur.
Wanneer jy sing is ’n Romanza in die Inspirasie subgenre. Die uitstaande geestelike boodskap is dat alles wat gebeur deel uitmaak van God se perfekte plan, hoe moeilik dit ook al mag wees. Ook dat dit nodig is om te vergewe en die verlede agter te laat.
Wat ook beïndruk het is hoe skrywer, Louise van der Merwe, die verhoog aan die karakters en hulle gevoelens, eerder as byvoorbeeld die omgewing, oorlaat. Die storie pas gemaklik in die gleuf van geestelike fiksie, hoewel dit natuurlik meer bondig is as ’n vollengte roman.
Emily knows how to capture her audience. Her writing style is a bit different but you enjoy it as you read along further. I do wish there was more to read about Miles’ and Daphne’s love story but I understand that the premise of the book was the story of how they met.
Overall, it was a great book.
'n Erflating neem die vier Calitz-vroue na Maanschijnbaai
Daar is ’n hele rits baie geldige redes waarom ek gesukkel het om my tande te kry in Jo & Sue, en daarna aanvanklik gespook het om ’n duik te begin maak in 635 bladsye. Chanette Paul se vermoë boeiend te skryf is allermins een van daardie redes. Dink eerder: fisio-assistent speel, voltydse versorger, onderbreekte slaap, en algemene onvermoë om te konsentreer. Die Calitz-slette met hulle kru taalgebruik was ook nie ’n goeie aanmoediging nie onder sulke omstandighede nie.
Enkele dae gelede was daar egter ’n deurbraak en daarná was daar nie keer aan nie. Vier uiteenlopende vroue, twee met losse sedes, ’n matriarg wat die spulletjie aanmekaar moet hou, die jongste so lelieblank (letterlik) dat sy ten prooi val van ’n gevaarlike sekte. Dan is daar die manne wat elkeen op sy beurt ’n belangrike rol te spele het in die storielyn.
Casper Calitz, die familiehoof, is vir jare vervreemd van sy nasate, maar laat sy boedel na aan die vier vroue. Dit klink op die oog af na uitkoms vir Jo, wat in groot finansiële verknorsing is, en vir Nan, wat gevra is om voortydig met pensioen te gaan. Totdat hulle Maanschijnbaai toe gaan en die erfposie gade slaan. “’n Kasarm. Uitgestrek. Grotesk. Verwaarloos. En verskriklik turkoois. Dis nou behalwe vir die pers en pienk en lemmetjiegroen deure en vensterrame.” (p.51)
Voeg daarby ’n pienk Cadillac, Hiërofant, Casper se winkel wat kristalle verkoop, ’n uitgebreide boekery en ’n drie-jaar klousule in die testament, en die intrige is groot. Selfs die eksentrieke Gaudi-boustyl word bygesleep om nog verdere kleur te gee. Daar is soveel elemente aan die verhaal, onder andere liefde, erfskandes, bedrog, geweld, en godsdienstige verleiding,
Die Maanschijnbaai-tweeluik is vyftien jaar gelede geskryf en nou hersien. Die nuwe buiteblaaie is besonder treffend en ’n waardevolle toevoeging tot my groeiende versameling van Chanette Paul se boeke.
