Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Avon Books (1983), Paperback, 208 pages
Description
A stunning novel in which "Mr. Wideman returns to the ghetto where he was raised and transforms it into a magical location...and establishes a mythological and symbolic link between character and landscape." --New York Times Book Review
User reviews
LibraryThing member m.belljackson
John Edgar Wideman's gift is an honest portrayal of African American life in a small fading Northern town.
In this final book of his trilogy, the background and deepest feelings of many characters are explored and evolve.
While the descriptor that 'Men work; women cook, clean and take care of
the fact of no jobs, no careers, no trades - nothing but dependence on white men's stopping at the corner -
destroys that balance, with the resultant poverty, depression, alcohol and drug addictions,
and increasing street violence and murders.
Friendships are long-lasting and the author involves us in these, as well as into
simply thinking about Silence. He wants us to pay attention to every little thing,
even repeating them until we get it and can't forget it.
From rainbow soap bubbles, to sounds on the train tracks to the slamming screen door and rocking chair,
multiple memorable images are woven into daily lives often dominated by despair and misery,
yet livened by dialogue like French and Wilkes have.
Great to see John French again and Freeda's love for him, plus her entirely different take on The Great Migration
immigrants and their effects on HOMEWOOD. A contrast with Jacob Lawrence. Mize.
Brother's roles - as lover, as a father who should not have trusted the care of Junebug to anyone but himself,
and his unkind betrayal (or was it the dream?) of Wilkes were a surprise.
(Wandering narrators sometimes hard to follow and sure could have lived without the treatment and murder of Junebug.)
In this final book of his trilogy, the background and deepest feelings of many characters are explored and evolve.
While the descriptor that 'Men work; women cook, clean and take care of
Show More
children' sets the pace,the fact of no jobs, no careers, no trades - nothing but dependence on white men's stopping at the corner -
destroys that balance, with the resultant poverty, depression, alcohol and drug addictions,
and increasing street violence and murders.
Friendships are long-lasting and the author involves us in these, as well as into
simply thinking about Silence. He wants us to pay attention to every little thing,
even repeating them until we get it and can't forget it.
From rainbow soap bubbles, to sounds on the train tracks to the slamming screen door and rocking chair,
multiple memorable images are woven into daily lives often dominated by despair and misery,
yet livened by dialogue like French and Wilkes have.
Great to see John French again and Freeda's love for him, plus her entirely different take on The Great Migration
immigrants and their effects on HOMEWOOD. A contrast with Jacob Lawrence. Mize.
Brother's roles - as lover, as a father who should not have trusted the care of Junebug to anyone but himself,
and his unkind betrayal (or was it the dream?) of Wilkes were a surprise.
(Wandering narrators sometimes hard to follow and sure could have lived without the treatment and murder of Junebug.)
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
PEN/Faulkner Award (Finalist — 1984)
Notable Books List (1983)
Language
Physical description
208 p.; 6.8 inches
ISBN
0380826445 / 9780380826445
Local notes
OCLC = 784
Google Books
Google Books