Song Yet Sung

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2008 Hardcover Good Ex-library book in good condition with the usual stamps and markings. Pages are clean and the binding is tight. Book is in good condition. Pages are clean ... and the binding is tight. *NOTE* Stock photo may not represent the actual book for sale. Read more Show Less

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2008 Hardcover Good Ex-library book in good condition with the usual stamps and markings. Pages are clean and the binding is tight. *NOTE* Stock photo may not represent the ... actual book for sale. Read more Show Less

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2008-02-05 Hardcover Good in very good dust jacket. Good, In very good dust jacket. Glued binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 359 p.

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first Good [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ] Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover Pub Date: 2/5/2008 Binding: Paperback Pages: 368.

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May include moderately worn cover, writing, markings or slight discoloration. SKU:9781594489723-4-0

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More About This Book

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author, one of the most critically acclaimed novels of the year.

In the days before the Civil War, a runaway slave named Liz Spocott breaks free from her captors and escapes into the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland's eastern shore, setting loose a drama of violence and hope among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves, and free blacks. Liz is near death, wracked by disturbing visions of the future, and armed with “the Code,” a fiercely guarded cryptic means of communication for slaves on the run. Liz's flight and her dreams of tomorrow will thrust all those near her toward a mysterious, redemptive fate.

Filled with rich, true details—much of the story is drawn from historical events—and told in New York Times bestselling author James McBride's signature lyrical style, Song Yet Sung is a story of tragic triumph, violent decisions, and unexpected kindness

Editorial Reviews

Madison Smartt Bell
Anyone handling such material runs the risk of reprising Uncle Tom's Cabin, which, however effective it was as propaganda, has no real claim to the truth of art. McBride's portrayal of the situation is more lucid, better controlled and in the end much more convincing…Edward P. Jones, who may be the first black American to have written about slavery without rancor, has said that his measured portrayal of the slave masters of Virginia in The Known World was like writing about Hitler from Hitler's mother's point of view. In Song Yet Sung, McBride has captured a version of Jones's dispassionate tone, which can deliver the cauterizing power of anger without the corrosive effects of bitterness. That's a radically new way of telling this old story, and it just might turn out to be balm for a wound that has so far stubbornly refused to heal.
—The New York Times
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics

Escaped slaves, free blacks, slave-catchers and plantation owners weave a tangled web of intrigue and adventure in bestselling memoirist (The Color of Water) McBride's intricately constructed and impressive second novel, set in pre-Civil War Maryland. Liz Spocott, a beautiful young runaway slave, suffers a nasty head wound just before being nabbed by a posse of slave catchers. She falls into a coma, and, when she awakes, she can see the future-from the near-future to Martin Luther King to hip-hop-in her dreams. Liz's visions help her and her fellow slaves escape, but soon there are new dangers on her trail: Patty Cannon and her brutal gang of slave catchers, and a competing slave catcher, nicknamed "The Gimp," who has a surprising streak of morality. Liz has some friends, including an older woman who teaches her "The Code" that guides runaways; a handsome young slave; and a wild inhabitant of the woods and swamps. Kidnappings, gunfights and chases ensue as Liz drifts in and out of her visions, which serve as a thoughtful meditation on the nature of freedom and offer sharp social commentary on contemporary America. McBride hasn't lost his touch: he nails the horrors of slavery as well as he does the power of hope and redemption. (Feb.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781594489723
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 2/5/2008
  • Pages: 368
  • Sales rank: 610,723
  • Product dimensions: 6.50 (w) x 9.30 (h) x 1.50 (d)

Meet the Author

James McBride
James McBride
James McBride burst onto the scene with The Color of Water, a memoir exploring the author's struggle to understand his biracial identity. A bit of a Renaissance man -- he's a skilled musician who has written for the likes of soul diva Anita Baker -- McBride crossed over into the fiction camp with the war novel Miracle at St. Anna.

Biography

James McBride's bestselling memoir, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, explores the author's struggle to understand his biracial identity and the experience of his white, Jewish mother, who moved to Harlem, married a black man, and raised 12 children. Readers may not know that the multitalented McBride has another dual identity: He's trained as a musician and a writer and has been highly successful in both careers.

After getting his master's degree in journalism from Columbia University at the age of 22, he began a career in journalism that would include stints as staff writer at the Boston Globe, People magazine, and The Washington Post. But McBride also loved writing and performing music, and at age 30, he quit his job as a feature writer at The Washington Post to pursue a music career in New York. After Anita Baker recorded a song he'd written, "Good Enough," McBride had enough contacts in the industry to spend the next eight years as a professional musician, writing, recording, and performing (he plays the saxophone).

He was playing tenor sax for jazz singer Little Jimmy Scott while he wrote The Color of Water "on airplanes and in hotels." Like the jazz music McBride plays, the book alternates voices, trading off between McBride's perspective and that of his mother. The Color of Water was a worldwide success, selling millions of copies and drawing high praise from book critics. "This moving and unforgettable memoir needs to be read by people of all colors and faiths," wrote Publishers Weekly. It now appears on reading lists at high schools and colleges around the country.

After the enormous success of The Color of Water, McBride felt some pressure to continue writing memoirs, or at least to continue with the theme of race relations in America. Instead, he turned to fiction, and although his second book draws part of its inspiration from family history, it isn't autobiographical. "My initial aim was to write a novel about a group of black soldiers who liberate a concentration camp in Eastern Europe," McBride explains on his web site. "I read lots of books and spent a lot of time researching the subject but soon came to the realization that I'm not qualified to write about the holocaust. It's too much." Instead, he recalled the war stories of his uncle and cousin, who served in the all-black 92nd Infantry Division, and began researching World War II in Italy -- particularly the clashes between Italian Partisans and the German army.

The resulting novel, Miracle at St. Anna, is "an intricate mosaic of narratives that ultimately becomes about betrayal and the complex moral landscape of war" (The New York Times Book Review) and has earned high marks from critics for its nuanced portrayal of four Buffalo Soldiers and the Italian villagers they encounter. McBride, perhaps not surprisingly, likens writing fiction to playing jazz: "You are the soloist and the characters are the bandleaders, the Duke Ellingtons and Count Basies. They present the song, and you must play it as they determine."

Good To Know

McBride has written songs for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., Gary Burton, and the PBS television character Barney. He has also written the score for several musicals and currently leads a 12-piece jazz/R&B band.

One of his most taxing assignments as a journalist was to cover Michael Jackson's 1984 Victory Tour for six months. "I thought I was going to lose my mind," he told USA Today.

For a book fair, he performed with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock band made up of writers including Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Stephen King, Dave Barry, and Ridley Pearson.

    1. Hometown:
      Bucks County, Pennsylvania
    1. Date of Birth:
      1957
    2. Place of Birth:
      New York, New York
    1. Education:
      Oberlin Conservatory of Music; M.A., Columbia University School of Journalism
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4
( 36 )

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  • Posted August 29, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Song Yet Sung - A Book for All Americans

    The Maryland Humanities Council chose Song Yet Sung, by James McBride, as the book every Marylander should read in 2009.

    As a supporter of reading and literacy, and as a native Marylander, I felt compelled to read it, particularly because the story is set in my homeland.


    The way James McBride describes the Eastern Shore of Maryland, naming familiar places like East New Market, Blackwater, Bishop's Head, Cook's Point, the Spocott plantation, the reader would presume he was a native - but he's not. Set in pre-Civil War Dorchester County, (birthplace of Harriet Tubman) the story is rich with suspense and drama bringing legendary characters like Patty Cannon alive. Cannon is not a fictional character. She actually lived in Dorchester County, very near the Caroline and Sussex County lines. She was a legendary slave-catcher and murderer, who committed suicide when she was finally arrested. McBride brings Cannon's character to life in Song Yet Sung.


    The tale McBride weaves about the trials of escaped slaves and free Blacks that were captured and "sold down the river" is poignant and riveting. It vividly paints a picture of the Eastern Shore when the Underground Railroad was in operation.


    McBride also links the details of this story - set in 1850 - to future America. The main character, a slave named Liz Spocott (aka "the Dreamer") is captured by Patty Cannon. She soon escapes capture and spends the rest of the story as a fugitive being led by other slaves and free blacks to freedom through use of a "code." Liz had a unique clairvoyant gift that allowed her to see into the future, and see her people in the present day, with their present challenges. McBride shows how complex relationships between Blacks and Whites evolved, and became the relationships of today. His juxtaposition of the race relations of then and now shows that there is still much work to be done towards healing.


    Phoebe Stein Davis, Maryland Humanities Council Executive Director states, "Song Yet Sung offers Marylanders the opportunity to come together around the state in our communities and talk about this beautiful and important novel and the picture it paints of this chapter in Maryland history. ... This is not simply a story of slavery, but rather a tale of freedom, hope, redemption, and identity, with a generous dose of commentary on modern American society."


    The story is a great story for all Americans. If you love America, and her heritage, if you love descriptive settings and compelling characters, if you're curious about pre-Civil War race relations in a border state, or if you've ever visited Maryland's Eastern Shore - Song Yet Sung is a MUST read.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 8, 2008

    inspirational

    I would recommend this book as a required reading to all inner city high school students because it is a great reminder of the struggles that black people had to go through but also a realization of what we have become.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 9, 2011

    Great Story

    This book was great, I could not put it down! There were some areas where the description of the land did seemed almost too descriptive, but at the same time I could picture each and every character with the amount of details given in the book....

    Thanks Mr. McBride for another great read. I'm officially hooked!

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  • Posted May 24, 2011

    Great series

    Every book is better than the last! I cant wait for #4

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  • Posted February 5, 2011

    Great Read!

    I love all historical fiction and this book did not disappoint McBride is a great writer and this book should be on the school reading list! Loved it!!!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 24, 2010

    other books better

    disappointing read..long drawnout ....didn't hold my interest at all........

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 3, 2009

    One State One Book

    Good for book group discussion.

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  • Posted May 24, 2009

    Great Plot

    I enjoyed this book. The main character's "visions" did not seamlessly flow with the rest of the storyline. After a certain point, I began to just skip over them. Other than that, I would strongly recommend this novel.

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  • Posted March 20, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Historically inaccurate

    As a resident of Maryland's Eastern Shore I was offended by the apparent lack of research on the author's part. He has the area settled by the wrong people (Germans), sets plot points in towns that did not exist during the time his story takes place (Ocean City), and forgoes historic and cultural details that would make his story credible. A much better book is "The Entailed Hat", also fiction, written by George Alfred Townsend. It tells the same story of an escaped slave and the problem of Patty Cannon and her son-in-law, and uses recognizable details to make the story believable. McBride's book could be a better one if not for the distraction of inaccuracies.

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  • Posted March 9, 2009

    What a great read!

    This book was recommended to me by an associated at B&N. It is a wonderful book. I didn't want it to end because it really made you think about the characters and what was going on. I recommended it for anybody who really wants to be a part of a story.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 16, 2008

    Geography lesson

    I wanted to like this book but- but I found it somewaht frustating getting the geography lesson of the land in Maryland. There was so much mentioning of the land, thickets, brush, rivers, the way the wind blowed etc. to me-- it just took away from the book.
    The characters were intersting- Amber, Liz, Patty and the gimp. the Woolman was quite interesting. There were times when I thought something needed to happen and it didn't. The book would go off into some long dialougue as to what a person was thinking.

    The book did make me think-about the free black man at this time. What was it like for him etc. and for that part kudos to McBride for portraying a sampling of what it may have been.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 19, 2008

    Very good read

    This book was very interesting, well structured with some very interesting characters. There are alot of characters in the book so at times you have to refresh your memory on the various characters. The story is about the underground railroad of the slaves 'the code' and the experiences that slaves and free blacks have to go through to get to freedom. His literary style is great, he really takes you back into the heart of American slavery. It is a very good book, well paced, page turner. It really shows the heart and determination of black slaves in America.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 31, 2008

    A reviewer

    This is one of those books that once you are about 10 to 15 pages into it, you flip back to count the pages and you are happy that its about 350 pages long.I didnt want it to end and couldnt put it down.

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    Posted January 28, 2010

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    Posted August 7, 2011

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    Posted December 25, 2008

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    Posted October 28, 2008

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