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My sister slept with the light on until she was 27. She rightfully blames me. I would leap out of closets with my hands made into claws. I would... Continue »
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Mama Day (Vintage Contemporaries)

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Mama Day (Vintage Contemporaries) Cover

ISBN13: 9780679721819
ISBN10: 0679721819
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 2 left in stock at $5.50!

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

On the island of Willow Springs, off the Georgia coast, the powers of healer Mama Day are tested by her great niece, Cocoa, a stubbornly emancipated woman endangered by the island's darker forces. A powerful generational saga at once tender and suspenseful, overflowing with magic and common sense.

Review:

"[Mama Day] combines elements of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker....Naylor manages her crowded narrative with aplomb, mixing social satire with folk humour and covering a wide emotional range. Like Morrison, she deploys rich, sensuous imagery; her narrative swings from myth to social realism, juxtaposing the African past with contemporary New York. The history of Willow Springs is told from the eighteenth century to the 1990s but the island exists outside time and is the setting for a tale of melodrama and intrigue. Naylor doesn't, however, load her story with significances that it can't bear; Mama Day is funny and entertaining, evocative and powerful." The Times Literary Supplement

Review:

"Naylor has a dazzling sense of humour, rich comic observation and that indefinable quality we call 'art.'" Rita Mae Brown

Review:

"This is a wonderful novel, full of spirit and sass and wisdom, and completely realized." Washington Post
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About the Author

Gloria Naylor was born in New York City in 1950, where she grew up and still lives.  She received her B.A. in English from Brooklyn College and her M.A. in Afro-American studies from Yale University.  She has taught writing and literature at George Washington University, New York University, Boston University, and Cornell University.  

She is the author of The Women of Brewster Place, which won the American Book Award for first fiction in 1983; Linden Hills, published in 1985; and Bailey's  Cafe.

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Robin Wood, August 13, 2012 (view all comments by Robin Wood)
This is a really fantastic book. It will make you believe in magic. It is contemporary magic realism, in that the world of the book is absolutely the real world and yet, you believe the magic. It's a love story/folk tale that reminds us why we tell folk tales and that fairy tales in their original form are mostly tragic. And yet, you are uplifted.
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binalyn, January 10, 2008 (view all comments by binalyn)
If you've never ventured in the written landscrapes created by Naylor, then you life must be lackluster. Naylor has the ability to describe a scene so completely that you can smell those smells and feel the summer breezes blowing by. This book is no exception. DO NOT let the opening stop you from delving into this book. Skip that...then comeback when you've finished the book. It will make more sense.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780679721819
Author:
Naylor, Gloria
Publisher:
Vintage Books
Location:
New York :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Afro-americans
Subject:
Georgia
Subject:
Afro-American women
Subject:
South carolina
Subject:
African Americans
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
Georgia Fiction.
Subject:
Afro-American women -- Fiction.
Subject:
African-American women
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
c198
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Series:
Vintage Contemporaries (Paperback)
Series Volume:
0000
Publication Date:
19890431
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
336
Dimensions:
8 x 6.5 x 1 in 0.5625 lb
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Related Subjects


Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » African American » General

Mama Day (Vintage Contemporaries) Used Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$5.50 In Stock
Product details 336 pages Vintage Books USA - English 9780679721819 Reviews:
"Review" by , "[Mama Day] combines elements of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker....Naylor manages her crowded narrative with aplomb, mixing social satire with folk humour and covering a wide emotional range. Like Morrison, she deploys rich, sensuous imagery; her narrative swings from myth to social realism, juxtaposing the African past with contemporary New York. The history of Willow Springs is told from the eighteenth century to the 1990s but the island exists outside time and is the setting for a tale of melodrama and intrigue. Naylor doesn't, however, load her story with significances that it can't bear; Mama Day is funny and entertaining, evocative and powerful."
"Review" by , "Naylor has a dazzling sense of humour, rich comic observation and that indefinable quality we call 'art.'"
"Review" by , "This is a wonderful novel, full of spirit and sass and wisdom, and completely realized."
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