Literary

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“challenging, but endlessly fascinating, as the reader follows Mamush’s geographical, mental, and spiritual journey. . . . a poignant and beautiful book.”

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“Reading Light Skin Gone to Waste will remain with us as a multilayered experience and an exquisite example of the art of contemporary American short fiction.”

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“In its winding subterranean travelogue, and profoundly evocative, allegorical blues surrealism, The Man Who Lived Underground reads less like a follow-up to Wright’s naturalist

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Most historians agree that the Reconstruction—the attempt to build a more equitable country following the Civil War—ultimately failed.

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“As a feat of reclamation for the Camelot-like heyday of Black Detroit, Black Bottom Saints, like the legendary impresario at its center, makes plentiful Motown magic.

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Post-apocalyptic novels featuring orphaned teenage girl protagonists proliferate. They fill their own shelves in bookstores, and their adaptations feed film studios and crowd streaming services.

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“Washington Black is a rich, absorbing tale.”

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Long a staple of antebellum American newspapers, “ranaway slave” advertisements afford the reader fascinating—if also horrific and heartbreaking—insights into the lives of fugitive slaves and their

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“Mosley’s new book, John Woman, though it only intermittently delivers the tautly rendered violence and suspense of his detective fiction, is as provocative and morally instructive

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"skillfully woven . . ."

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"an entertaining, engaging crime novel."

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“Clemmons’ voice is natural and appealing . . . and . . . what she is telling us is powerfully poignant and emotional, even at times, devastatingly resonant. . . .

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“a love story that is also a survival story of beauty and hope.”

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One could compare the artistic career of Clarence Major to that of musical genius Miles Davis. Major has always been miles ahead of other African American writers.

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This thought-provoking novel is set in the years just after the Civil War.

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“perfect for young children just learning America’s history, long-time history buffs, and readers who love a stroll down memory lane . . .”

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"Balm is a powerful tale of individual loves, longings, and losses . . ."

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“Makeda is beyond ambitious and imaginative and, at times challenging, but it is also well written and powerful, with an ending that is equal parts tragic and romantic in nature.