An Eighth of August: A Novel

An Eighth of August: A Novel
Average customer rating:

THANK YOU, DAWN TURNER TRICE

Love the time frame

Good Down Home Story

Engaging Novel

Worth Paying Attention

An Eighth of August: A Novel
Dawn Turner Trice
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0385721471
Release Date: 2002-05-14

Book Description

From the author of the highly acclaimed Only Twice I’ve Wished for Heaven, a new novel about the strong ties and haunting memories that bind family and friends in a small town.
Narrated by a chorus of voices, An Eighth of August tells the story of a Midwestern community that celebrates the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation year after year. Celebrants from come near and far to pay tribute to the rich heritage of the former slaves who settled the Illinois town. But along with the festivities come painful memories and long-buried resentments, and while this year’s celebration is no different, it will offer up its own particular brand of freedom to one extended family and the wonderfully eccentric white woman whose life becomes entwined with their own. Wavering between the devastating and the uplifting, An Eighth of August is ultimately an enduring and exuberant novel.

Customer Reviews:

THANK YOU, DAWN TURNER TRICE.......2004-03-21

AT FIRST I HAD A LITTLE DIFFICUTY DECIPHERING WHO WAS WHO AND WHAT WAS WHAT. FINALLY GETTING INTO THE BOOK, HOWEVER, I FOUND THAT IT WAS WELL WORTH THE EFFORT. THE CHARACTERS ARE EVERYDAY PEOPLE,TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST OF THE HAND THAT LIFE HAS DEALT THEM. THIS IS THE VERY THING THAT MAKES THEM ALL SO ENDEARING--EVEN VIOLA'S DOGS THAT WON'T RUN AWAY BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO BE TIED UP.
VERY UNIQUE--VERY SWEET AND I'M GRATEFUL TO MS.TRICE FOR A NOVEL THAT I WON'T SOON FORGET.

Love the time frame.......2002-02-17

An eighth of august is the story of a just everyday family in the 60's going through problems. The story is told through different members of the family. The story is centered around El, the young nephrew, death a year before. The family is again getting ready to attend the county festive where the tradgedy struck the year before. The story setting is before and after the death took place. I like reading books with the time frame of the 60's I throught the book was good, but kinda of confusing with the years.

Good Down Home Story.......2001-12-10

Dawn Turner Trice is an excellent author. This is the first book that I read of hers. She has so many lessons in this story..so many old sayings that make you feel like the characters are a part of your family. I hope the lessons will linger on within me for years to come. If this festival that they speak of was near here, I would surely attend. This book makes true that in every family some rain, and some pain must fall as the author says, " Sometimes grief opens up a window. Sometimes grief open it wide enough for something wonderful to fly in". I'm glad Trice's messages flew into my space.

Engaging Novel.......2001-12-05

[...]

By a quarter of the way into the book I was absolutely hooked and wanted to keep reading it as quickly as possible. It's a terrifically engaging book and I felt very rewarded for staying with it early on when it was a bit confusing.

What I liked most about the book was how the story was told, ie., by several characters and not always chronoligically. This style unfolded the characters in very interesting ways. Just about every one of them grew in depth as the story worked toward a conclusion. I made judgments about people which weren't always accurate at the beginning and they grew before my eyes as the story moved on. Each character had much more depth than was revealed in the first half of the book and it reflects real life as we get to know people and they hold so much more depth than when we first meet them.

Further, I enjoyed her style of writing "in dialect". I had the feeling of evesdropping in on conversations in a household I wouldn't ordinarily have access to (I'm white). If these people were talking to me in real life they'd probably speak more "proper". This aspect endeared them to me. I also happen to live in an African American neighborhood so I do get an opportunity a times to hear and appreciate the more natural style of speaking that goes on in the 'hood so her style seemed very realistic and "down home" to me.

I highly recommend.

Worth Paying Attention.......2001-03-05

I loved it. Yes, it can be confusing, just concentrate, and it will be rewarding.

Average customer rating:

An EIGHTH Of AUGUST. A Novel.
Dawn Turner. Trice
Manufacturer: Crown,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MZ4J1O

Customer Reviews:

Great Collection of McFarlane's (and Spidey's) Best! .......2004-08-08

Spider-Man Legends: Todd McFarlane Book (Spider-Man) is a great collection of both artist Todd McFarlane's and Spiderman's best work. This edition is the third of volume of Todd Mcfarlane's work. McFarlane was introduced to Amazing Spider-man in the late 80s and drew Spidey like he had never been drawn before. He updated the styles and fashions of Peter and Mary-Jane as well as enhanced the way of creating Spidey's webs, a style which is still present today. This collection contains Amazing Spider-man #315 - #323, #325, and #328. Unlike most other reprints of books in chronological order, the book is full of complete stories rather than a whole bunch of "one-shots" (as in McFarlane Legends Vol. 2).
Issues #315 - #317 contain the return of Venom, one of Spidey's most lethal and dealy enimies. The next two issues #318 & #319, tell a sotry about the mutated menace Scorpion. While #320 - #323 and #325, are 5 of the 6 issues in Spidey's legendary "Assasination Nation Plot". The fifth issue, #324 was not included since McFarlane didn't do the art, even though this issue is included it can be picked up at your local compic shop for $4 -$7, and this not big deal since you save so much from Amazon.com anyway. The last issue #328 is Todd McFarlane's last issue on Amazing Spider-man featuring a battle between Spidey and the Incredible Hulk before he moved on to other Spider-titles and eventually to his own label (Dark Horse Comics, mainly SPAWN).
All in all this is a great collection of comics, but without the fifth issue of "The Plot" and a Hulk issue which comes out from left field, this volume gets 4 stars, but is still a must for any Todd Mcfarlane, Spidey, or VENOM fan.

Amazon.com

The 70 song games collected in Brown Girl in the Ring come from the Eastern Caribbean, a crescent-shaped chain of islands that stretches from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago. The compendium is based on song games that folklorist Alan Lomax recorded in 1962. For each of the songs--which come from Dominica, St. Lucia, Anguilla, Nevis, and Carriacou, as well as Trinidad and Tobago--there are lyrics and music, explications, and instructions on how the games are played. A compact disc is available from Rounder Records featuring Lomax's original recordings.

Book Description

Award-winning author Alan Lomax has dedicated his life to recording the music of cultures that are largely ignored, thereby preserving forever a magnificent musical heritage. In the words of Studs Terkel, Lomax is "one of America's most imaginative and daring musicologists."

Together with J. D. Elder, a former minister of culture of Trinidad and Tobago, and his sister Bess Lomax Hawes, Lomax collects here sixty-eight children's song games--the music, the lyrics, and the stories behind them--from countries throughout the eastern Caribbean. Also included are personal essays that detail Lomax's experiences while recording the music, and his and Elder's encounters with the traditions upon which the songs are based.

Through words, music, and pictures, Brown Girl in the Ring captures a fascinating and essential part of life on the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, Dominica, St. Lucia, Anguilla, Nevis, and Carriacou. And as they have criss-crossed the world in the wake of the great migrations of the last four hundred years, these songs have taken on as well a life of their own, becoming a cherished part of many different cultural traditions.

Customer Reviews:

Valuable Resource.......2000-02-18

This book is an invaluable collection of Caribbean rings games, documenting traditions that are slowing fading away under the crush of North American pop culture. It is a cherished resource for my wife, who grew up in Dominica playing many of these games and now teaches them as part of her dance classes in Ohio. Anyone who buys this book must also get the companion CD from Rounder Records.

Average customer rating:

Brown Girl
Nalo's First Book
Brown Girl in the Ring
A truely original book!
A truely original book!

Brown Girl in the Ring
Nalo Hopkinson
Manufacturer: Aspect
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Midnight Robber
Skin Folk
The Salt Roads
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora
So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy

ASIN: 0446674338

Amazon.com

This is Nalo Hopkinson's debut novel, which came to attention when it won the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. It tells the story of Ti-Jeanne, a young woman in a near-future Toronto that's been all but abandoned by the Canadian government. Anyone who can has retreated from the chaos of the city to the relative safety of the suburbs, and those left in "the burn" must fend for themselves. Ti-Jeanne is a new mother who's trying to come to grips with her as- yet-unnamed baby and also trying to end her relationship with her drug-addict boyfriend Tony. But a passion still burns between the young lovers, and when Tony runs afoul of Rudy, the local ganglord, Ti-Jeanne convinces her grandmother Gros-Jeanne to help out. Gros-Jeanne is a Voudoun priestess, and it's clear that Ti-Jeanne has inherited some of her gifts. Although Ti-Jeanne wants nothing to do with the spirit world, she soon finds herself caught up in a battle to the death with Rudy and the mother she thought she lost long ago. --Craig E. Engler

Book Description

This is Nalo Hopkinson's debut novel, which came to attention when itwon the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. It tells the story of Ti-Jeanne, a young woman in a near-future Toronto that's been all but abandoned by the Canadian government.Anyone who can has retreated from the chaos of the city tothe relative safety of the suburbs, and those left in "the burn" must fend forthemselves. Ti-Jeanne is a new mother who's trying to come to grips with her as- yet-unnamed baby and also trying to end her relationship with her drug-addictboyfriend Tony.But a passion still burns between the young lovers, and whenTony runs afoul of Rudy, the local ganglord, Ti-Jeanne convinces her grandmotherGros-Jeanne to help out. Gros-Jeanne is a Voudoun priestess, and it's clear thatTi-Jeanne has inherited some of her gifts.Although Ti-Jeanne wants nothing todo with the spirit world, she soon finds herself caught up in a battle to thedeath with Rudy and the mother she thought she lost long ago. --Craig E.Engler

Download Description

Set in Toronto after the turn of the millennium, Brown Girl in the Ring focuses on "The Burn," the inner city left when Toronto's economic base collapsed. Young Ti-Jeanne lives with her grandmother, who runs a trade in herbal medicine that is vital to the disenfranchised of The Burn. A fascinating cast of characters combined with the dark world of Afro-Caribbean magic create an altogether original and compelling story by an intriguing new voice.

Customer Reviews:

Brown Girl.......2007-08-13

Once I got used to the language I was drawn in, sometimes even reading outloud. It was a very good story and kept me on the edge of my seat. This is my first Nalo Hopkinson book, and I can't wait to read more!

Nalo's First Book.......2006-10-21

Anyone can come up with a decent story idea . . . I mean anyone. A lot of people can write their idea down in competent prose, and some do. But only a handful of people can tell their stories in a memorable way with a great voice. Nalo Hopkinson is one of those people - her voice is great.

The story, Brown Girl in the Ring, is a good story about a young woman living in dystopia Toronto, an inner city burn where civilization is all about 'the strongest survive.' She's in touch with the African Gods because the gift of voudoun runs in the family - and the Gods, called in rituals, have personalities as strong and wild as the rest of the cast of characters: drug dealers, addicts, crime lords, healers, street children, and even the prime minister.

With a strong story and great characters, Nalo adds the element of voice to the mix and out comes pure entertainment - edge of your chair fun reading with a big, "oh, that's it?" sigh at the end and a wish for more.

And more I will read.

- CV Rick

Brown Girl in the Ring.......2005-04-23

"Brown Girl in the Ring" takes us to a little-seen location in imaginative fiction: near-future inner-city Toronto, long since abandoned by the government. Here, cut off from neighboring cities by impassable barriers, a new culture is emerging. Main character Ti-Jeanne works with her grandmother to provide traditional herbal remedies for the locals, but trouble is brewing in the form of a ruthless gang leader, Rudy, and his band of thugs. They have reached a deal to provide a human heart for transplant to an important politician, and let's just say that they don't rank medical ethics as a very high priority.

This novel steers clear of most typical beginner mistakes. The pacing is correct, without any noticeable lagging between important events. Hopkinson employs a distinct ethnic dialect for all her characters, but it doesn't distract from the story. And the overall writing level, while not perfect, does provide some gripping scenes. I particularly enjoyed a wild magic ritual wherein various spirits inhabit the bodies of the main characters.

But there's a problem with "Brown Girl in the Ring". Much as it pains me to say it, it's the male characters. All of them are portrayed as cruel, vindictive, and nasty. All of them. And even when a band of children arrive for just a few pages, we can't avoid noticing that the girls and smarter and more competent than the boys. I would accept the villainous Rudy, though his scenes are a bit over-the-top (torturing a baby and skinning a woman alive, for starters), but Ti-Jeanne's ex-husband Rudy comes across as a total wimp, an almost nonentity. The book would have benefit quite a bit if Hopkinson had given Tony some real spirit.

A truely original book!.......2003-07-27

I have only just recently read BROWN GIRL, although the book has been sitting on my bookshelf for more than two years. I had discovered Nalo, because of on interview she did with LOCUS Magazine a while back. This is a wonderful book whose story seems to be deceptively simple, but which is profound and moving. Hopkinson breathes new life into scienc-fiction. BROWN GIRL IN THE RING is a definitive must-read! By the way, don't forget to buy her other books as well: MIDNIGHT ROBBER and SKIN FOLK.

A truely original book!.......2003-07-27

Average customer rating:

Brown Girl in the Ring
Nalo Hopkinson
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0788752286

Average customer rating:

Brown Girl in the Ring
Karen Casey
Manufacturer: Music for Little People
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Books on Cassette | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1566282713

Average customer rating:

Brown Girl in the Ring
Valerie Mason-John
Manufacturer: Get a Grip Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

BROWN GIRL IN THE RING "...Colorful and enthralling, exotically weird and at the same time totally convincing; you don't read this book, you live in it. " (WARNER ASPECT(SCIENCE FICTION))

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BROWN GIRL IN THE RING "...Colorful and enthralling, exotically weird and at the same time totally convincing; you don't read this book, you live in it. " (WARNER ASPECT(SCIENCE FICTION))
NALO HOPKINSON
Manufacturer: WARNER BOOKS, INC.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Brown Girl in the Ring [Audiobook] [Cd] [Unabridged]

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Brown Girl in the Ring [Audiobook] [Cd] [Unabridged]
Nalo Hopkinson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000KIPAPM

Product Description

7 Hours 52 Minutes, unabridged on six compact disks. To uncover the future voices of science fiction, Time Warner Publishing sponsored a contest that attracted hundreds of submissions. Brown Girl in the Ring was the winning entry, announcing author Nalo Hopkinson to the world as a tremendous new talent. It is the 21st century, and due to the economic breakdown and rising crime rate, nearly every citizen has fled Toronto. The city is a slum, populated by the homeless, the poor, and criminals like Rudy, who uses the power of voodoo to help him control the booming drug market. But also left behind are people like Ti-Jeanne, who hope to use voodoo to help rebuild the city, even as Canadas privileged population turns to Toronto to begin harvesting human organs.

Crossing the boundaries of the "Burn": Canadian multiculturalism and Caribbean hybridity in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring.: An article from: Extrapolation

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Crossing the boundaries of the "Burn": Canadian multiculturalism and Caribbean hybridity in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring.: An article from: Extrapolation
Michelle Reid
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Extrapolation, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 8156 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Crossing the boundaries of the "Burn": Canadian multiculturalism and Caribbean hybridity in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring.
Author: Michelle Reid
Publication: Extrapolation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Page: 297(18)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

A feminist reading of soucouyants in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring and Skin Folk.(Critical Essay): An article from: Mosaic (Winnipeg)

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A feminist reading of soucouyants in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring and Skin Folk.(Critical Essay): An article from: Mosaic (Winnipeg)
Giselle Liza Anatol
Manufacturer: University of Manitoba, Mosaic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Mosaic (Winnipeg), published by University of Manitoba, Mosaic on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 8494 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A feminist reading of soucouyants in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring and Skin Folk.(Critical Essay)
Author: Giselle Liza Anatol
Publication: Mosaic (Winnipeg) (Refereed)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: University of Manitoba, Mosaic
Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Page: 33(18)

Article Type: Critical Essay

Distributed by Thomson Gale

"Serving the spirits": emergent identities in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring. : An article from: Extrapolation

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"Serving the spirits": emergent identities in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring. : An article from: Extrapolation
Sarah Wood
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Extrapolation, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 5552 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: "Serving the spirits": emergent identities in Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring.
Author: Sarah Wood
Publication: Extrapolation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Page: 315(12)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

Worst cookbook ever. .......2007-10-10

I've used a lot of low ingredient, low-fat cookbooks, and this is probably the worst food I've ever had in my life. The food literally tastes like vomit on a plate. Please don't buy this. Invest in a better cookbook.

Great Easy Cookbook.......2007-05-07

This is a great, easy cookbook for anyone looking for simple dinner ideas. It does call for some frozen/prepared ingredients (such as diced pre-cooked chicken or frozen chopped onions) but if you want to use fresh ingredients you can, just plan on spending a little more time on the recipe. Most recipes have just a few simple ingredients (never more than 10) and take either 15 minutes of prep time, 15 minutes of cook time, or 15 minutes total time. The barbeque meatloaf is fantastic! The book includes desserts, salads, an extensive meatless entree section, and chicken, beef, and pork options. I haven't made anything out of this cookbook that I didn't like.

My New Favorite Cook Book - the .......2007-04-12

This is the best cookbook I have seen for busy people (who isn't?) who like tasty food but can't spend a lot of time preparing it. I not only use this for my family--I am teaching a weekly cooking class for my grandchildren using this cookbook. They (all 15 of them in the classes) will probably be even busier when they grow up than we are. This book is so well organized. Main dish with vegetable suggestions and recipes both on the same page, plus suggestions for breads and dessert. The recipes give a nice variety of ways to cook common items (chicken, beef, pork, fish--vegetables--desserts) and even includes the grocery list to the right of each recipe. It also has a full color photo of every recipe. I like the fact that the entire meal, not just the main dish is included. I also like the "No-stress shopping list" If you keep this page of items on hand you can cook over 1/3 the recipes in the book. As if that weren't enough--the food is chosen to provide healthy, well balanced meals that taste delicious. A real winner!! (I am a Mom to 9 children--and a grandmother to 38 children)

Excellent Cookbook!.......2007-01-27

A must have for people who enjoy good food but don't have a lot of time to cook. Tons of quick and healthy recipes that taste great. A favorite in our house.

shoulda known.......2007-01-23

I guess I shoulda known that being a 15 minute cookbook it would call for a lot of frozen ingredients. Unless you're Rachel Ray and can cook up a storm in the matter of a few minutes you will definitely need frozen stuff to make a meal in 15 minutes. Wouldn't recommend if you like fresh ingredients.

5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook: Cooking Light

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5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook: Cooking Light
Cooking Light
Manufacturer: OXMOOR HOUSE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WSTZP6

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