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Additionally, Shori is portrayed as less intimidating than stereotypical vampires. As Melissa Strong notes, Shori's diminutive size makes her seem non-threatening. Her treatment of symbionts is kind and understanding: instead of considering her symbionts as victims or pawns, Shori's relationship with them reflects mutuality and balance.
Several scholars have noted how Ina discrimination against Shori doubles as commentary on human racist practices. According to Steven Shaviro, racism is the major factor in the conflict between Shori and Ina speciesists such as the Silk family, who view humans as enemies who have annihilated Ina throughout history. These Ina maintain that Ina and human must remain separate species with the Ina as the dominant partner. They consider Shori to be somehow biologically different to the rest of the Ina population, as not even belonging to the same species as them. They refuse to see the shared characteristics between Shori and the rest of the Ina; instead, they deride her because of her difference.
Likewise, humans crave intimacy with one particular Ina after they have been infected by her or his venomous bite, and may die when they lose their Ina. Butler devotes several moments in the novel to portray the discomfort this required loss of agency causes in the human symbionts. Nevertheless, "Fledgling" is the first time that Butler illustrates a co-dependent relationship from the point of view of the dominating partner, unlike in previous works such as her novel "Dawn" or her celebrated short story "Bloodchild".
Scholars have linked "Fledgling"s mutualistic symbiosis to various theoretical positions. Pramrod Nayar sees it as a fictional depiction of the relationship that professor Donna Haraway defines as "companion species" in "Encounters with Companion Species: Entangling Dogs, Baboons, Philosophers, and Biologists". Joy Sanchez-Taylor and Shari Evans recognize it as a form of social commentary: human beings must move away from parasitic, hierarchical relationships and toward symbiosis with each other and other species. Critic Susana Morris connects "Fledgling"s symbiotic relationships to the Afrofuturistic feminist desire to portray liberation from current forms of hegemonic dominance. Thus, the "cooperation, interdependence, and complex understandings of power" that mutualistic symbiosis represents becomes Butler's "futurist social model, one that is fundamentally at odds with racism, sexism, and sectarian violence".
"Fledgling" challenges traditional expectations of sexual categorization and proposes alternative ways for individuals to relate to one another by having Ina sexual norms override human norms. Ina-human sexual relationships are polyamorous, with one Ina as the primary partner of several male and female human symbionts. Also, symbionts often engage in same-sex and/or opposite-sex relationships with other symbionts. Further, the Ina mate in family-based groups—a group of sisters mating with a group of brothers from a different family. An Ina household, therefore, blurs the boundaries between familial and erotic love by having its members involved with each other sexually.
Butler highlights the strangeness of the Ina sexual arrangements through the reactions of Shori's first symbiont, Wright. According to Melissa Strong, Wright responds to Shori's pansexuality with biphobia; for him, proper sexuality has clear categories: male and female, heterosexuality and homosexuality.
Ultimately, Butler's inclusion of alternative sexualities serves to erode rigid hierarchies. Strong explains that the fusing of family and sexual relations destabilizes the traditional relationship between slave and master. Similarly, Susana Morris argues that, in the spirit of Afrofuturistic feminism, "Fledgling"s queer sexualities "uncouple dominance from power", so that the patriarchal hold over those marginalized is replaced by "coalition and power sharing".
Likewise, Pramrod Nayar believes that Shori's loss is what makes her the best of all possible Ina, and therefore a symbol of the future. Butler proposes that vampires should become less vampiric by attaining more human qualities such as emotional attachments and sense of community. Meanwhile, humans should also lose certain aspects of themselves as well, such as their vulnerability to disease and tendency to be sexually possessive. Only by losing their weak characteristics and gaining stronger ones, the human and vampire species are able to evolve and improve. Fledgling creates a progressive plan by converting Ina and human into a companionate species through the adoption of qualities of the Other.
These complications of agency, Bast argues, mean that "Fledgling "is "openly asking whether the highest degree of agency is automatically the most desirable state of being or whether there is a higher potential for happiness in choosing a specific kind of dependence".
In an interview with Juan Gonzalez and Amy Goodman for "Democracy Now!", Butler explained that she had written "Fledgling" as a diversion after becoming overwhelmed by the grimness of her Parable series. To distract herself, she had read vampire fantasy novels, which tempted her to try writing one. As she explained in an interview with Allison Keyes, it took her a while to find the focus of the novel until a friend suggested that what vampires wanted, besides human blood, was the ability to walk in the sun. She then decided to create vampires as a separate species and have them engineer the capacity to withstand sunlight by adding human melanin to their DNA.
Though "Fledgling" is unique on its take on what motivates vampires, it is not the first story to have a black vampire as its protagonist. In the 1970s, the films Blacula and Scream Blacula Scream depicted a black vampire as the nemesis of white supremacists. In the 1990s, the Blade film series, based on a Marvel Comics character, introduced a black human-vampire superhero who can tolerate sunlight. In addition, according to scholars Joy Sanchez-Taylor and Susana M. Morris, "Fledgling" belongs to a flourishing tradition of Afrofuturistic black vampire fiction, as represented by Jewelle Gomez's novel "The Gilda Stories", as well as by the series "African Immortals" by Tananarive Due and "The Vampire Huntress Legend" by Leslie Esdaile Banks.
"Fledgling" received mostly positive feedback. Novelist Junot Diaz declared it his "book of the year", calling it "[a] harrowing meditation on dominance, sex, addiction, miscegenation and race that completely devours the genre which gave rise to it". Butler scholar Sandra Y. Govan pronounced it "[a]n extremely well-crafted science fiction story... [that] engages us and is exciting because it invokes and riffs upon vampire myth and legend while wearing a number of masks—murder mystery, crime novel, coming-of-age, innocence-to-experience, initiation, quest tale, and outsider/survivor novel".
Reviewers also commented favorably on Butler's reinvention of the vampire figure, with Ron Charles of "The Washington Post" arguing that ""Fledgling" doesn't just resurrect the pale trappings of vampire lore, it completely transforms them in a startlingly original story about race, family and free will." While reviewing the novel for the journal "Gothic Studies", Charles L. Crow noted that "[while] "Fledgling" may be the least Gothic of Butler's fictions... Butler makes unsettling demands of the reader, as always, and we must at the beginning accept as narrator and heroine a vampire whose first act is to kill and eat a man who is trying to help her."
The Octavia E. Butler Papers at the Huntington Library include multiple drafts for potential sequels of "Fledgling" which continue to follow the Shori and her growing family as they navigate their relationships and both human and Ina societies. New characters would have included additional human symbionts, the newest of whom, Darya, has a history of trauma and abuse. Possible conflicts may have included a return of the Silk family, seeking revenge on Shori. Possible versions included "Asylum" or "Shadow Rise" (alternatively "Shadow Memory"). In a journal entry in December 2005, Butler wrote, "I don't want to spend the last years of my life writing Shori stories but a Shori story is what I have now."
My Soul to Keep is a 1997 novel by American writer Tananarive Due. It is the first book in Due's African Immortals Series and was followed by "The Living Blood" (2001). The third book in the series, "Blood Colony", was published in 2008.
In 2004, it was announced that a film version of this book is in production with actor Blair Underwood.
The Color Purple is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name.
The novel has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000–2009 at number seventeen because of the sometimes explicit content, particularly in terms of violence. In 2003, the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved novels."
Celie is a poor, uneducated 14-year-old girl living in the Southern United States in the early 1900s. She writes letters to God because her father, Alphonso, beats and rapes her. Alphonso has already impregnated Celie once, which resulted in the birth of a boy named Adam, whom Alphonso abducted. Celie thinks Alphonso killed Adam. Celie then has a second child, and Celie's ailing mother dies after cursing Celie on her deathbed. The second child is a girl named Olivia, but Alphonso takes the baby away shortly after birth.
Celie and her younger sister, 12-year-old Nettie, learn a man identified only as Mister wants to marry Nettie. Alphonso refuses to let Nettie marry, instead arranging for Mister to marry Celie. Mister, a widower, needing someone to care for his children and keep his house, eventually accepts the offer. Mister physically, sexually, and verbally abuses Celie, and all his children mistreat her as well.
Shortly thereafter, Nettie runs away from Alphonso and takes refuge at Celie's house, where Mister makes sexual advances toward her. Celie then advises Nettie to seek assistance from a well-dressed black woman that she saw in the general store a while back; the woman has unknowingly adopted Olivia and is the only black woman Celie has ever seen with money of her own. Nettie is forced to leave after promising to write. Celie, however, never receives any letters and concludes her sister is dead.
Shug Avery, a jazz and blues singer and Mister's long-time mistress falls ill, and Mister takes her into his house. Celie, who has been fascinated by photos of Shug she found in Mister's belongings, is thrilled to have her there. Mister's father expresses disapproval of the arrangement, reminding Mister that Shug has three out-of-wedlock children, though Mister implies to him he is those children's father. Mister's father then leaves in disgust. While Shug is initially rude to Celie, who has taken charge of nursing her, the two women become friends, and Celie soon finds herself infatuated with Shug.
Frustrated by Harpo's domineering behavior, Sofia moves out, taking her children with her. Several months later, Harpo opens a juke joint where a fully recovered Shug performs nightly. Shug decides to stay when she learns Mister beats Celie when she is away. Shug and Celie grow closer.
Sofia returns for a visit and promptly gets into a fight with Harpo's new girlfriend, Squeak, knocking Squeak's teeth out. In town one day, while Sofia is enjoying a day out with her new boyfriend, a prizefighter, and their respective children, she gets into a physical fight with the mayor after his wife, Miss Millie, insults Sofia and her children. The police arrive and brutally beat Sofia, leaving her with a cracked skull, broken ribs, her face rendered nearly unrecognizable, and blind in one eye. She is subsequently sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Squeak, mixed-race and Sheriff Hodges' illegitimate niece, attempts to blackmail the sheriff into releasing Sofia, resulting in her being raped by her uncle. Squeak cares for Sofia's children while she is incarcerated, and the two women develop a friendship. Sofia is eventually released and begins working for Miss Millie, which she detests.
Despite being newly married to a man called Grady, Shug instigates a sexual relationship with Celie on her next visit. One night Shug asks Celie about her sister, and Shug helps Celie recover letters from Nettie that Mister has been hiding from her for decades. The letters indicate Nettie befriended a missionary couple, Samuel and Corrine, the well-dressed woman Celie saw in the store. Nettie eventually accompanied them to Africa to do missionary work. Samuel and Corrine have unwittingly adopted both Adam and Olivia. Corrine, noticing her adopted children resemble Nettie, wonders if Samuel fathered the children with her. Increasingly suspicious, Corrine tries to limit Nettie's role in her family.
Through her letters, Nettie reveals she has become disillusioned with her missionary work. Corrine became ill with a fever, and Nettie asked Samuel to tell her how he adopted Olivia and Adam. Realizing Adam and Olivia are Celie's children, Nettie then learned Alphonso is actually her and Celie's stepfather. Their actual father was a store owner that white men lynched because they resented his success. She also learned their mother suffered a mental collapse after her husband's death and that Alphonso exploited the situation to control their mother's considerable wealth.
Nettie confessed to Samuel and Corrine she is the children's biological aunt. The gravely ill Corrine refused to believe her until Nettie reminds her of her previous encounter with Celie in the store. Later, Corrine died, finally having accepted Nettie's story. Meanwhile, Celie visits Alphonso, who confirms Nettie's story. Celie begins to lose some of her faith in God, which she confides to Shug, who explains to Celie her own unique religious philosophy. Shug helps Celie realize God is not someone who has power over her like the rest of the men in Celie's life. Rather, God is an “it” and not a “who."
Having had enough of her husband's abuse, Celie decides to leave Mister along with Shug and Squeak, who is considering a singing career of her own. Celie puts a curse on Mister before leaving him for good, settling in Tennessee and supporting herself as a seamstress.
Alphonso dies, Celie inherits his land and moves back into her childhood home. Around this time, Shug falls in love with Germaine, a member of her band, and this news crushes Celie. Shug travels with Germaine, all the while writing postcards to Celie. Celie pledges to love Shug even if Shug does not love her back.
Celie learns that Mister, suffering from a considerable decline in fortunes after Celie left him, has changed dramatically, and Celie begins to call him by his first name, Albert. Albert proposes that they marry "in the spirit as well as in the flesh," but Celie declines.
Meanwhile, Nettie and Samuel marry and prepare to return to America. Before they leave, Adam marries Tashi, an African girl. Following an African tradition, Tashi undergoes the painful rituals of female circumcision and facial scarring. In solidarity, Adam undergoes the same facial scarring ritual.
As Celie realizes that she is content in her life without Shug, Shug returns, having ended her relationship with Germaine. Nettie, Samuel, Olivia, Adam, and Tashi all arrive at Celie's house. Nettie and Celie reunite after 30 years and introduce one another to their respective families.
"The Color Purple" won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1983, making Walker the first black woman to win the prize. Walker also won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1983. Mel Watkins of the "New York Times Book Review" wrote that it is a "striking and consummately well-written novel", praising its powerful emotional impact and epistolary structure.
Though the novel has garnered critical acclaim, it has also been the subject of controversy. It is 17th on the American Library Association's list of most frequently challenged or banned books. Commonly cited justifications for banning the book include sexual explicitness, explicit language, violence, and homosexuality. The book received greater scrutiny amidst controversy surrounding the release of the film adaptation in 1985. The controversy centered around the depiction of black men, which some critics saw as feeding stereotypical narratives of black male violence, while others found the representation compelling and relatable.
On November 5, 2019, the "BBC News" listed "The Color Purple" on its list of the 100 most influential novels.
The novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 1985. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Whoopi Goldberg as Celie, Danny Glover as Albert, and Oprah Winfrey as Sofia. Though nominated for eleven Academy Awards, it won none. This perceived snubbing ignited controversy because many critics considered it the best picture that year, including Roger Ebert.
On December 1, 2005, a musical adaptation of the novel and film with lyrics and music by Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell and Allee Willis, and book by Marsha Norman opened at The Broadway Theatre in New York City. The show was produced by Scott Sanders, Quincy Jones, Harvey Weinstein, and Oprah Winfrey, who was also an investor.
In 2008 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a radio adaptation of the novel in ten 15-minute episodes as a "Woman's Hour" serial, with Nadine Marshall as Celie, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Nina Sosanya and Eamonn Walker. The script was by Patricia Cumper, and in 2009 the production received the Sony Radio Academy Awards Silver Drama Award.
As part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), the author declined publication of the book in Israel in 2012. This decision was criticized by Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, who argued that Walker "resorted to bigotry and censorship against Hebrew-speaking readers of her writings". Walker, an ardent pro-Palestinian activist, said in a letter to Yediot Books that Israel practices apartheid and must change its policies before her works can be published there.
Singh, Sonal, and Sushma Gupta. “Celie’s Emancipation in the Novel The Color Purple.” International Transactions in Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 2, no. 2, Dec. 2010, pp. 218–221.Humanities International Complete.
Tahir, Ary S. “Gender Violence in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.” Journal of Language and Literature Education, no. 11, 2014, pp. 1–19. Literature Resource Center, doi:10.12973/jlle.11.243.
Pym is the third novel by American author Mat Johnson, published on March 1, 2011. A satirical fantasy inspired by "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket", Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, the book explores racial politics and identity in America, and Antarctica. The novel was written over a period of nine years and has been well received by critics, who have praised its lighthearted and humorous style of social criticism.
"Pym" takes its title from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket", "a strange tale of shipwrecks, mutiny and a mysterious island inhabited by black-skinned people whose teeth are even black, and it ends abruptly at the South Pole with Pym facing haunting white figures". Poe's only novel, it is the favorite book of Johnson's protagonist, Chris Jaynes, an African-American professor of literature, and his obsession with it leads him on his own journey to Antarctica.
According to Johnson, creating the book involved "9 years of writing, 16 drafts, [and] 3 deletion attempts". While working on "Pym", Johnson also finished four critically acclaimed graphic novels – "Hellblazer: Papa Midnite" (2005), "Incognegro" (2008), "Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story" (2010), and "Right State". In an interview with Mike Emery, Johnson stated that there were many times when he thought that "Pym" "was taking too much of my time, and it was taking me in the wrong direction". He credits his wife, journalist Meera Bowman Johnson (to whom he dedicated "Pym"), and friends with persuading him to continue with the novel.
Johnson's website features a list of books by other notable writers inspired by Poe's open-ended novel since its publication in 1838, including Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", H. P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness", and Jules Verne's "An Antarctic Mystery" – "the most pragmatic and literal sequel to "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" and also the worst sequel […] Come for the novelty, stay for the unbridled racism". The narrative of "Pym" also includes elements from Verne's and Lovecraft's Poe-inspired works.
In "Pym", Johnson's protagonist named a course on Poe he was teaching in reference to Toni Morrison's 1992 collection of essays "Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination", in which she explores the theory that for Poe, whiteness equaled perfection. Professor Jaynes's course, "Dancing With the Darkies: Whiteness in the Literary Mind", attempted to trace the roots of America's failure to become a post-racial society to classic white texts, with a focus on Poe.
Chris Jaynes is the only African-American professor of literature at a liberal Manhattan college. Refusing to limit his teaching to the African-American canon and serve on the college diversity committee, he is denied tenure. His obsession with Poe's novel comes to a head when his ancient book dealer introduces him to a copy of "The True and Interesting Narrative of Dirk Peters. Coloured Man. As Written by Himself.", "an unpublished 19th-century manuscript that suggests Poe's novel, which was partially set in Antarctica, was drawn closely from truth." Jaynes assembles an all-black mining crew, and embarks on an expedition to the South Pole in search of Poe's fabled island of Tsalal, the "great undiscovered African Diasporan homeland ... uncorrupted by whiteness."
Jaynes and Garth wake up in a saturated paradise and are greeted by Thomas Karvel, the Master of Light, and his wife, Mrs. Karvel. They are given a tour of the Biodome and are given three-fifths of a home, and the Karvels agree to let them stay only if they raise crops in the plot of land they are given.
Because the Biodome uses so much energy, the heat from its machinery is melting the ice caves of the Snow Honkies. Both Pym and Nathaniel arrive with all of the Snow Honkies and attempt to persuade the Karvels into using less energy and relinquishing Jaynes and Garth, as they are property of Sausage Nose. Mrs. Karvel invites the Snow Honkies to a feast, which takes place on the rooftop of the Biodome. The mining crew (except Nathaniel), Jaynes, and Mrs. Karvel cook all of the remaining instant food, and cover the dessert with rat poison, calling them "sprinkles".
During the feast, Mrs. Karvel asks Jaynes to bring out more dessert, and Sausage Nose and a child follow him inside the Biodome. The child dies in a river from the rat poison, and Sausage Nose realizes the trick that is being played on the Snow Honkies. He charges at Jaynes and is killed by an ax to the head, courtesy of Garth. To avoid suspicions of Sausage Nose going missing, Jaynes forces Garth into a robe and smears toothpaste on his face and hands. The Snow Honkies discover that something is amiss and that Garth is not Sausage Nose at all. The Snow Honkies begin to attack the humans when an earthquake occurs, killing all except Jaynes, Garth, and Pym.
The novel then becomes a number of journal entries about the journey to Tsalal by raft, in which Pym dies. Jaynes covers Pym's face with a black cloth, and they arrive at Tsalal, which is not an island of blackness, as Poe describes, but instead of a place of color and most notably of people with brown skin.
The Secret Life of Bees is a fiction book by the American author Sue Monk Kidd. Set in 1964, it is a coming-of-age story about loss and betrayal. The book received critical acclaim and was a "New York Times" bestseller. It won the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards (Paperback), and was nominated for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction.
The book was later adapted into a film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Set in 1964 in the fictitious town of Sylvan, South Carolina, "The Secret Life of Bees" tells the story of a 14-year-old white girl, Lily Melissa Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. Lily lives in a house with her abusive father, whom she refers to as T. Ray. They have a no-nonsense maid, Rosaleen, who is a mother figure for Lily.
Lily eventually meets Zach, August's godson. They soon develop intimate feelings for each other. They share goals with each other while working the hives. Both Lily and Zach find their goals nearly impossible to meet but still encourage each other to attempt them. Zach wants to be the "ass-busting lawyer", which means he would be the first black attorney in the area. Lily wants to be a short story writer.
A vigil is held that lasts four days. In that time, Zach is freed from jail with no charges, and black cloth is draped over the beehives to symbolize the mourning. May's suicide letter is found and in it she says, "It's my time to die, and it's your time to live. Don't mess it up." August interprets this as urging June to marry Neil. May is later buried. Life begins to turn back to normal after a time of grieving, bringing the Boatwright house back together. June, after several rejections, agrees to give her hand in marriage to Neil. Zach vows to Lily that they will be together someday and that they will both achieve their goals.
Lily finally finds out the truth about her mother. August was her mother's nanny, and helped raise her. After her marriage to T. Ray began to sour, Deborah left and went to stay with the Boatwrights. She eventually decided to leave him permanently and returned to their house to collect Lily. While Deborah was packing to leave, T. Ray returned home. Their ensuing argument turned into a physical fight during which Deborah got a gun. After a brief struggle, the gun fell to the floor, which Lily picked up and the gun accidentally discharged, killing Deborah.
While Lily is coming to terms with this information, T. Ray shows up at the Boatwright residence, also known as the pink house, to take her back home. Lily refuses, and T. Ray flies into an enraged rampage. He has a violent flashback which brings him around. August steps in and offers to let Lily stay with her. T. Ray gives in and agrees. However, right before T. Ray leaves the Boatwright house, Lily asks him what really happened the day her mother died. T. Ray confirms that Lily was the one to, accidentally, kill her mother Deborah.
The novel has many themes, including religion, labour, nature, racism, orphanhood and abandonment, mental health issues and suicide. Lily's search for a mother figure is a part of the greater journey into her own identity. The Bildungsroman showcases Lily's struggle to understand her role in her family and the world and work through her trauma. Another theme is the historical setting and the racism in 1960s southern United States. The novel mentions police mistreatment of Black people, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the controversy of interracial relations. April and May, as well as Lily's mother, are affected by various mental illnesses. Although this is not stated directly, May exhibits symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (hyperempathy, restricted and stereotyped behaviour, speech abnormalities).
There are a couple big symbols and motifs in “The Secret Life of Bees." One major symbol is the bees and bee-related objects. Bees are a main symbol and motif in the novel. Bees are a symbol of two main things: Guidance and the power of a female community. This is seen in the theme. A major theme is that Lily is looking for a connection to her mother or some mother figure. In the story, there are many strong women she meets. She not only grows up with Rosalee, who is a surrogate mother to Lily, but she also meets the Boatwright Sister and the Daughters of Mary who enhance this symbol of power in a female community in relation to bees.
Bees can also symbolize organization or “living in a civilized community.” This can be connected to the black community and specifically the Boatwright sisters in this novel. Bees are very organized, and every bee needs to do its job. In the novel, there is a quote which says, “when a queen bee is taken from a hive, the other bees notice her absence” and it is very similar with the Boatwright sisters. Once May’s twin, April, died, May was never the same. She was emotionally sensitive after her twin passed. Once May took her own life, the Boatwright sisters, once again, had to learn how to move on and live with a loss and “missing bees.”
Honey represents wisdom and knowledge. In the plot, Lily is looking for the black Mary that is on a honey jar, and after finding the source of this honey, The Boatwright Sisters take Lily and Rosaleen in, and begin to share their wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom and knowledge about bees, life, Lily’s dad, T. Ray, and Lily’s mother, Deborah.
The reception of the book was generally positive. Although the novel does include the underlying theme of the civil rights movement, "USA Today" felt the novel focused more on Lily's journey towards "self-acceptance, faith and freedom". The novel was originally published in 2001, and has since sold more than six million copies and has been published in 35 countries. It also stayed on the "New York Times" best seller list for two and a half years. In 2004, it was named the "Book Sense Paperback of the Year". It was also one of "Good Morning America"'s "Read-This" Book club picks, and was nominated for the Orange Prize in England.
The book was adapted into a film in 2008, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and produced by Will Smith, with Jada Pinkett Smith as the executive producer. Queen Latifah played August Boatwright, Dakota Fanning played Lily, Alicia Keys played June Boatwright, Jennifer Hudson played Rosaleen, and Sophie Okonedo played May Boatwright.
The book has been adapted as a musical. A workshop was produced by New York Stage and Film & Vassar in 2017. The world premiere musical adaptation of "The Secret Life of Bees" was held at the Off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company on May 12, 2019 in previews, with the official opening on June 13. The musical's book is written by Lynn Nottage, with music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. The musical is directed by Sam Gold and features Saycon Sengbloh as Rosaleen, Elizabeth Teeter as Lily, and LaChanze, Eisa Davis and Anastacia McCleskey as the Boatwight beekeeping sisters.
The Living Blood is a novel by writer Tananarive Due. It is the second book in Due's "African Immortals Series". It is preceded by "My Soul to Keep", which was published in 1997, and is followed by "Blood Colony", which was published in 2008.
The Sellout is a 2015 novel by Paul Beatty published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and in the UK by Oneworld Publications in 2016. The novel takes place in and around Los Angeles, California, and muses about the state of racial relations in the U.S. today. In October 2016, it won the Man Booker Prize, making Beatty the first US writer to win that award.
Published in 2015, "The Sellout" was the latest in Paul Beatty’s body of work that explores racial identity in America and the pervasive historical effects of racism. Beatty’s other notable works include "The White Boy Shuffle", "Tuff", and "Slumberland". Beatty has stated his motivation for writing the novel was that "[he] was broke". Although "The Sellout" was not written in response to any specific event, the novel was released during a time of racial reckoning surrounding multiple instances of police brutality and the Ferguson, Missouri protests.
"The Sellout" is a fictitious, satirical novel about racial relations in the U.S. Beatty utilizes stereotypes and parody throughout the story to inject social commentary. Beatty’s other works are mostly humorous as well, but Beatty has claimed that he does not view himself as a satirical author.
The novel was well received by critics, who praised its humor, ostensibly satirical content, and rich social commentary. In "The Guardian", Elisabeth Donnelly described it as "a masterful work that establishes Beatty as the funniest writer in America", while reviewer Reni Eddo-Lodge called it a "whirlwind of a satire", going on to say: "Everything about "The Sellout"s plot is contradictory. The devices are real enough to be believable, yet surreal enough to raise your eyebrows." The "HuffPost" concluded: ""The Sellout" is a hilarious, pop-culture-packed satire about race in America. Beatty writes energetically, providing insight as often as he elicits laughs."
Historian Amanda Foreman, chair of the judges of the Man Booker prize, said: ""The Sellout" is one of those very rare books that is able to take satire, which is in itself a very difficult subject and not always done well, and it plunges into the heart of contemporary American society and, with absolutely savage wit, of the kind I haven't seen since Swift or Twain, both manages to eviscerate every social taboo and politically correct, nuanced, every sacred cow, and while both making us laugh, making us wince.
It is both funny and painful at the same time and it is really a novel of our times."
Beatty has indicated surprise that critics refer to the novel as a comic one, indicating his belief that discussing the comic aspects of the novel prevents critics from having to discuss its more serious themes.
"The Sellout" was the first American book to win the prestigious Man Booker prize, an award traditionally reserved for English-language literature not from the U.S. The contest began considering American literature in 2002.
"The Sellout" was published in 2015 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and UK publishing house Oneworld Publications.
The Land is a novel written by Mildred D. Taylor, published in 2001. It is the fifth and penultimate book of the Logan Family saga that began with "Song of the Trees" (1975). It is a prequel to the whole series that recounts the life of Cassie Logan's grandfather Paul-Edward as he grows from a nine-year-old boy into a man in his mid-twenties. This book won the 2002 Coretta Scott King Author Award and the 2002 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction.
This was originally the final book in the series before the release of "All the Days Past, All the Days to Come" in 2020 which continues the story of the Logan family chronologically from the last book, "The Road to Memphis" set twenty years later.
"The Land" follows the life of Paul-Edward Logan. Paul is the child of a white man and a woman with Black and Native American ancestry. Paul has three entries from Paul's journal, after the main story ends. The dialogue uses the Southern dialect from the 1870s and 1880s.
Paul and Mitchell are working in a lumber camp and wish to escape. The pair start their journey together, but they decide to separate to avoid drawing attention to themselves. While they are separated, Mitchell goes to more lumber camps, and Paul's eyes land upon J. T. Hollenbeck's land. Upon seeing this land, Paul knows that this is "The Land". His land. The book then goes on to describe life in different types of work camps. The story follows Paul as he works at a general store owned by Luke Sawyer, and as a woodworker in a small town called Vicksburg.
Eventually, Paul and Mitchell meet a man by the name of Filmore Granger and make a deal to work for the possession of 40 acres. Although it is not The Land, clearing the forty will help Paul obtain the money needed for J.T. Hollenbeck's land. A deal was struck between Paul and Mr. Granger that stated, if Paul could clear the forty within about two years, Paul and Mitchell would own the forty.
After a few months of working hard at the forty, Paul realizes that he needs the help of some hired hands. Mitchell suggests Tom Bee, with whom he had worked a lumber camp. A white boy Paul had met before, and a young black boy named Nathan Perry, who later becomes Paul's brother-in-law are also hired hands. For a while, a white boy by the name of Wade Jamison helps Paul clear the forty.
In Legacy, Paul's father was sick when Paul takes his boys back to see his family. He saw Robert, Hammond, Cassie, and Cassie's husband Howard. Though Paul had visited Hammond in his store several times over the years, Paul had never heard from brothers Robert and George. No one had heard from George in years. The day after Paul arrived home, his father died. Paul then bought the other 200 acres of Hollenbeck land, from Wade Jamison.
Mildred D. Taylor's novels are often based on stories that she read, heard, or was told about her family's history. "I remember my grandparents' house, the house my great-grandfather had built at the turn of the century, and I remember the adults talking about the past. As they talked, I began to visualize all the family who had once known "The Land" and I felt as if I knew them too," Taylor explained.
Mildred Taylor, "The Land". Penguin: New York, 2001.
Operation Burning Candle is a novel by Blyden Jackson published in 1973. It was his debut novel. It describes a political conspiracy led by a group called the Black Warriors, whose leader is Vietnam War veteran and Harlem native Captain Aaron Rogers. The conspiracy does not appear clear until more than halfway through the novel and refers to a traumatic event to galvanize the black community in the US to take control of their own destiny. The novel culminates with a series of killings at a political convention held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The title of the book refers to the three part plan initiated by the Black Warriors. No matter where they go, they will be welcomed in to the homes of members of the black community who burn candles in their home as a sign of solidarity and refuge.
The novel begins with the death of Harlem native and Vietnam War veteran Captain Aaron Rogers. He has supposedly been killed in Vietnam and his body has been flown back to the US for burial. Suspicion is created when Rogers' sister Sissy (Janice) claims to have seen Aaron in a car in lower Manhattan. She and her brother Tommy go to the funeral parlor where the body of Aaron is in a coffin. They discover that the body is not of their brother at all, but someone else entirely.
While Sissy and Tommy are discovering the truth about their brother, Police detective Dan Roberts, former Korean War veteran and current law school student as well as member of the NYPD's Special Operations Unit is investigating a series of seemingly unrelated yet unusual crimes, including a number of bank robberies and a subway malfunction and shutdown.
Meanwhile, firebrand governor of Mississippi Josiah Brace is getting ready for the Democratic National Convention scheduled to occur in just a few days in Madison Square Garden. Brace is a divisive figure who is opposed to the Civil Rights reforms of the 1960s as well as school busing. He is ambitious and hopes to be nominated as his party's presidential candidate at the convention.
Ultimately, using well trained black Vietnam War soldiers, Aaron Rogers formulates a plan that will culminate in a monumental event of political violence that will transform American society.
The novel which was written during the late 1960s and early 1970s reflects many of the themes prevalent in US society during the time period. Written in the aftermath of the civil rights movement, urban riots, the Vietnam War, the political assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, it reflects the political paranoia of the period. At the same time the novel is a call to black unity and cooperation in order to transform the political power structure. Many of the novel's themes were addressed in films of the period including Uptight and The Spook Who Sat By the Door. Its treatment of the black soldier's experience during the Vietnam War is reflected in Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods.
Romiette and Julio is a young adult novel by Sharon Draper, published in 1999 by Atheneum Books. It is an updated version of "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. Many of the characters in Draper's novel closely parallel those in Shakespeare's play. The plot updates the family feud between the Capulets and Montagues to reflect modern racial tensions between African-Americans and Hispanics in the United States. The book received mixed reviews.
This story begins with African American teenager Romiette Cappelle awaking from a recurring nightmare in which she is drowning in fire and water. Just before waking she hears an unknown male voice speaking to her. Although frightened by the nightmare, she wonders whether the voice could be the voice of her soulmate.
Meanwhile, Julio Montague, a Hispanic teenager has just moved to town (Cincinnati, Ohio) from Corpus Christi, Texas, and the following day is his first day attending the same school as Romiette. On his first day he is involved in an altercation with Ben, a local boy, and the two end up becoming friends after Ben declines to implicate Julio when questioned by the school's principal. When Julio gets home that afternoon, he logs into a chatroom with the screen name "spanishlover" and starts to chat anonymously with "afroqueen," who he later finds is Romiette. Meanwhile, Romiette excitedly tells Destiny, her best friend, about her online chat with "spanishlover." Romiette and Julio continue to chat online, have a lunch date, and eventually fall in love with each other.
Their relationship provokes the ire of a local gang—the "Devil Dogs"—who disapprove of an African American girl dating a Hispanic boy. Makala, a member of the gang, threatens Romiette on several occasions. Julio tells his parents about the relationship, and although his mother, Maria, approves, his father, Luis, dislikes his son dating an African American girl because his first girlfriend was killed by gang members who were African American.
Romiette and Julio struggle with the pressure of their environment's disapprobation, reaching a crisis when the gang threaten them at gunpoint. The two of them meet with Ben and Destiny and concoct a plan to deal with the gang: Romiette and Julio will show their affection in public in order to draw the gang member's attention, while Ben and Destiny will be nearby and armed with a gun, ready to step in and confront them. The plan fails at a critical juncture when the car breaks down, and Romiette and Julio are abducted by the Devil Dogs.
Ben and Destiny go to the Cappelle's home and explain what has happened to Romiette's parents, Lady and Cornell. Lady asks Malaka where the teens are, but Malaka denies knowing where they are. She eventually reveals their location when questioned by the police.
Romiette and Julio turn out to be stranded at the bottom of a boat in London Woods Lake. When lightning strikes, they are separated. Having fallen into the lake, unable to swim, Romiette blacks out and experiences once again her recurring dream. When Julio finds her floating face down, he pulls her to land and finds she is not breathing. As Julio tries to wake her, Romiette recognizes the unknown male voice in her dream as Julio's voice.
In their review, Kirkus Reviews wrote: "The parallels to Shakespeare’s play are often self-conscious and belabored, drawn at odd moments in the story. Still, a straightforward, uncluttered narrative will hook readers into the well-paced plot and sympathetic characters; loose ends are tied more neatly than a package, prettying up the ending by putting a happily-ever-after spin on the lovers’ fates."

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