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In the twenty-fourth volume of this distinguished anthology,
Madison Smartt Bell chooses twenty-one distinctive pieces of short
fiction to tell the story of the South as it is now. This is a
South that is still recognizable but no longer predictable. As he
says, "to the traditional black and white recipe (ever a tricky and
volatile mixture) have been added new shades and strains from Asia
and Central and South America and just about everywhere else on the
shrinking globe." Just as Katrina brought out into the open all the
voices of New Orleans, so the South is now many things, both a
distinctive region and a place of rootlessness. It's these
contradictions that Madison Smartt Bell has captured in this
provocative and moving collection of stories.
The Eye You See With - the first and only collection of Robert Stone's nonfiction - was carefully selected by award-winning novelist and Stone biographer Madison Smartt Bell. Divided into three sections, the collection includes the best of Stone's war reporting, his writing on social change, and his reflections on the art of fiction. This is an extraordinary volume that offers up a clear-eyed look at the twentieth century and secures Robert Stone's place as one of the most original figures in all of American letters.
Continuing his epic trilogy of the Haitian slave uprising, Madison
Smartt Bell's Master of the Crossroads delivers a stunning
portrayal of Toussaint Louverture, former slave, military genius
and liberator of Haiti, and his struggle against the great European
powers to free his people in the only successful slave revolution
in history. At the outset, Toussaint is a second-tier general in
the Spanish army, which is supporting the rebel slaves' fight
against the French. But w hen Toussaint is betrayed by his former
allies and the commanders of the Spanish army, he reunites his army
with the French, wresting vital territories and manpower from
Spanish control. With his army one among several factions,
Toussaint eventually rises as the ultimate victor as he wards off
his enemies to take control of the French colony and establish a
new constitution.
Following the widely acclaimed All Souls' Rising and Master of the
Crossroads, Madison Smartt Bell gives us the climactic final
chapter in the life of Toussaint Louverture, the legendary leader
of the only successful slave revolution in history.
Madison Smartt Bell is one of the most versatile and gifted authors of his generation, a literary stylist with few peers. Doctor Sleep, one of his best novels, is a taut and satisfying psychological thriller planned to be released as a major motion picture under the title Hypnotic. Adrian Strother is a hypnotherapist who, paradoxically, can't get to sleep. He plies his trade in a depressed section of London, doing the occasional job for Scotland Yard, which brings him into contact with an unsavory drug trafficker. As little girls become the target of a serial killer, Adrian treads the line between tortured wakefulness and surreal sleep, and the gifts of his insomnia are called upon to unlock the secrets of a man who believes he has discovered the key to immortality. Part spiritual pilgrimage, part thriller, Doctor Sleep is witty, menacing, and deeply satisfying, a bravura performance by one of today's finest writers.
Unavailable for more than fifty years, EIMI finally returns. While sometimes termed a "novel," it is better described as a novelistic travelogue, the diary of a trip to Russia in the 1930s during the rise of the Stalinist government. Despite some contempt for what he witnesses, Cummings's narrator has an effective, occasionally hilarious way of evoking feelings of accord and understanding. As Ezra Pound wrote, Cummings's Soviet Union is laid "out there pellucidly on the page in all its Slavic unfinishedness, in all of its Dostoievskian slobberyness....Does any man wish to know about Russia? 'EIMI' " A stylistic tour de force, EIMI is a melange of styles and tones, the prose containing many abbreviations, grammatical and syntactical shifts, typographical devices, compounds, and word coinages. This is Cummings's invigorating and unique voice at its finest, and EIMI is without question one of his most substantial accomplishments."
Port-au-Prince, the 1960s: Baby Doc Duvalier and his militia are systematically eliminating opponents to the regime. Daniel Leroy, editor in chief of the opposition newspaper, has just been arrested. To find out what has become of him, his wife, Nirvah, visits Raoul Vincent, secretary of state at the Office of Public Safety. This fearsome head of the secret police is instantly smitten, and to ensure her husband's survival and protect her family, Nirvah submits to the official's desires. Becoming the mistress of a strongman in the regime is not without its benefits. Still, she has to endure her neighbors' inquisitive looks and the silent questions of her own children. Kettly Mars's Savage Seasons describes a pivotal and painful period in Haitian history by weaving together two stories: the personal story of Nirvah and her family and the universal story of Duvalier's dictatorial regime and its abuses.
At the end of the 1700s, French Saint Domingue was the richest and
most brutal colony in the Western Hemisphere. A mere twelve years
later, however, Haitian rebels had defeated the Spanish, British,
and French and declared independence after the first--and
only--successful slave revolt in history. Much of the success of
the revolution must be credited to one man, Toussaint Louverture, a
figure about whom surprisingly little is known. In this fascinating
biography, Madison Smartt Bell, award-winning author of a trilogy
of novels that investigate Haiti's history, combines a novelist's
passion with a deep knowledge of the historical milieu that
produced the man labeled a saint, a martyr, or a clever opportunist
who instigated one of the most violent events in modern history.
Focusing on the big picture as well as the crucial details, Bell examines twelve stories by both established writers (including Peter Taylor, Mary Gaitskill, and Carolyn Chute) and his own former students. A story's use of time, plot, character, and other elements of fiction are analyzed, and readers are challenged to see each story's flaws and strengths. Careful endnotes bring attention to the ways in which various writers use language. Bell urges writers to develop the habit of thinking about form and finding the form that best suits their subject matter and style. His direct and practical advice allows writers to find their own voice and imagination.
A Vietnam vet returns to rural Tennessee in this acclaimed novel from the National Book Award-nominated author of Save Me, Joe Louis. After the horrors of Vietnam, Thomas Laidlaw returns to his home in rural Tennessee where he spends his days raising sheep and growing vegetables. At night he likes to roam the quiet countryside and practice his banjo, revelling in the roots music he finds so grounding. Over time, he resumes his friendship with Rodney Redmon, a fellow vet and childhood friend scarred not only by the wages of war, but also by the deep wounds of racism. As the two friends piece together a new life as civilians, they also piece together a band with the addition of a fiddler. Through a masterful accumulation of details, Bell brings his story to a fever pitch, concluding in "an unexpected, if powerful, finale" (Publishers Weekly). "This important, insightful novel" (Library Journal) proves once again that "every sentence [Bell] writes is a joy. His power is exhilarating" (The New Yorker). "Bell's impressive talents as a writer, which include endowing settings with the significance of character, and a patient, compassionate probing of injured souls, are on full display." -Publishers Weekly
Two small-time thieves get in over their heads in this literary thriller from the “virtuoso novelist” and author of Soldier’s Joy (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Not quite at home in the backwoods of Tennessee, and even less suited for the service, drifter Macrae lands on his feet in New York City in the 1980s. There, he teams up with a petty thief named Charlie, and the two hit on a scheme to rob people withdrawing money at ATMs. Caught up by their surprising success, they move on to bigger crimes. But as Macrae feels a growing discomfort with the increasing violence and danger of their hardscrabble existence, he wonders if he’s in too deep to make a clean break. With a tightly orchestrated and harrowing conclusion from “one of our most talented novelists . . . This meticulously observed story nevertheless grips us with its lucid prose, its keen psychological insights and the author’s respect for his troubled characters” (Publishers Weekly). “A remarkable read.” —The New York Times Book Review “Bell seems to know intimately the seedy sides of New York, Baltimore and the ex-urban south of housing developments and shopping centers abutting old, dying farms. He renders each locale exquisitely and seems as familiar with street jive as redneck vernacular.” —Los Angeles Times “Ripe for translation to the silver screen.” —Library Journal
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