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More copies of this ISBN:

Cion

by Zakes Mda

Cion Cover

ISBN13: 9780312427061
ISBN10: 0312427069
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $9.50!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The hero of Zakes Mda's beloved Ways of Dying, Toloki, sets down with a family in Middle America and uncovers the story of the runaway slaves who were their ancestors.

Toloki, the professional mourner, has come to live in America. Lured to Athens, Ohio, by an academic at the local university, Toloki makes friends with an angry young man he meets at a Halloween parade and soon falls in love with the young man's sister. Toloki endears himself to a local quilting group and his quilting provides a portal to the past, a story of two escaped slaves seeking freedom in Ohio.

Making their way north from Virginia with nothing but their mother's quilts for a map, the boys hope to find a promised land where blacks can live as free men. Their story alternates with Toloki's, as the two narratives cast a new light on America in the twenty-first century and on an undiscovered legacy of the Underground Railroad.

Review:

"'In this exuberant follow-up to Ways of Dying, the celebrated South African novelist and playwright Mda once again centers his story upon the professional mourner Toloki — this time, as he makes his way through a sad and surreal America. Set on the eve of the 2004 presidential election, the novel fixes its outsider gaze on everything from Billionaires for Bush to late-night television, viewing American cultural and political life through a near-anthropological lens. But there is much heart here, too, as Toloki is taken in by an impoverished Southern family; he befriends the son, Obed; falls in love with his melancholy, sitar-playing sister, Orpah; and learns to quilt from their mother, Ruth. Simultaneously, he learns how the quilts link Ruth's ancestry to the slave trade and, in particular, the escape of Nicodemus and Abednego, the beloved sons of a slave called 'The Abyssinian Queen.' Cross-cutting between the slave story and Toloki's experiences, the book offers a rich and original picture of the United States on both a personal and grander historical level and is suffused with the same lyricism, vividness and dark, tragic wit that have earned the author previous recognition here and in his homeland. (Sept.)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"One of the most prolific black writers of post-apartheid South Africa, Zakes Mda, has now cast his roaming, wry and satirical eye upon the United States, in particular the rural southeastern Ohio community outside of Athens, Ohio (where, incidentally, Mda teaches at Ohio University). Readers of his first novel, 'Ways of Dying,' will immediately recognize Toloki, the narrator of 'Cion,' a professional... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review)

Review:

"An essential companion piece to such 20th century masterpieces as Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! and Toni Morrison's Beloved and Song of Solomon. More to the point, this is a great African writer's great American novel. A stunning book." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Review:

"[Mda's] commentary on the political views and culture of African Americans is full of insight and humor." Library Journal

Review:

"Mda's elegant patchwork of clever storytelling, wry characterization and good-natured humor is more than enough." Cleveland Plain Dealer

Synopsis:

The hero of Mdas Ways of Dying, Toloki, settles down with a family in middle America and uncovers the story of the runaway slaves who had been their ancestors. Their stories alternate with Tolokis, and the two narratives cast new light on an undiscovered legacy of the Underground Railroad.

About the Author

Zakes Mda is a professor of creative writing at Ohio University. He lives in Athens, Ohio.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780312427061
Author:
Mda, Zakes
Publisher:
Picador USA
Subject:
General
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Quilting
Subject:
South Africans
Subject:
FIC043000
Subject:
Historical
Subject:
Psychological fiction
Subject:
Adventure fiction
Edition Description:
Picador
Publication Date:
August 2007
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
312
Dimensions:
8.28x5.58x.89 in. .70 lbs.

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