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Guests | October 15, 2009

Michelle Wildgen: IMG A Few Initial and Not-Comprehensive Meditations on Group Novels

1 comment By Michelle Wildgen

I am a sucker for a book about a group. What reminded me of this was Joanna Smith Rakoff's A Fortunate Age, her homage to Mary McCarthy's endlessly re-readable... Continue »

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A phenomenal #1 bestseller that has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly three years, this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s.  Filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women,

Angelou paints a sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people--and the times--that touched her life.

Review:

"Simultaneously touching and comic" — The New York Times

Review:

"It is a heroic and beautiful book." — Clevland Plain Dealer

Review:

"Maya Angelou is a natural writer with an inordinate sense of life and she has written and exceptional autobiographical narrative... a beautiful book — an unconditionally involving memoir for our time or any time." — The Kirkus Reviews
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About the Author

Maya Angelou has written five volumes of autobiography as well as many books of poetry. Dr. Angelou is currently Reynolds Professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 4 comments:
devondas, August 15, 2009 (view all comments by devondas)
This is the type of book you keep on your shelf for future reads and only reluctantly loan out to good friends. If a book had flavor, this one would be one to be savored again and again.
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SarahNicoleD, July 24, 2009 (view all comments by SarahNicoleD)
This novel captures the true essence of Maya Angelou's life. The breathtaking scenes move you to feel as the main character feels, as if you're in the roller coaster of her life. This heart-wrenching story can change the way you think.
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Ambrosia4All, January 4, 2009 (view all comments by Ambrosia4All)
This book was so touching, but I could not describe quite why. It was beautiful, but again it's hard to give a specific reason. It puts in our faces the lives of those around is, it's so real. While some novels and memoirs have believable characters, Maya Angelou's description of her childhood is so sensory driven and lyrical, that it's hard to imagine it NOT existing.
She's such a rare woman, a rare human being, that her words leap off the page and straight into your brain. This book must be read to truly understand her struggles and triumphs, her life and her decisions. While many parts are difficult to read in this 21st century atmosphere, it's important to remember things like she describes happened and still happen everywhere, in every country, in every town. This is the type of book you can't forget after you read it.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780553279375
Author:
Angelou, Maya
Publisher:
Bantam Books
Location:
New York
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
People of Color
Subject:
Biography
Subject:
Women
Subject:
Afro-americans
Subject:
Afro-American women
Subject:
Authors, American
Subject:
Entertainers
Subject:
African Americans
Subject:
Afro-American women authors
Subject:
Afro-Americans -- Biography.
Subject:
cultural heritage
Subject:
United states
Subject:
African American women authors - 20th century
Subject:
Entertainers -- United States.
Copyright:
1970
Edition Number:
Bantam ed.
Edition Description:
Bantam reissue November 1993.
Series Volume:
no. 28
Publication Date:
April 1983
Binding:
Mass Market Paperbound
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
304
Dimensions:
6.88x4.26x.91 in. .34 lbs.
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