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Propertyby Valerie Martin
AwardsWinner of the 2003 Orange Prize
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:From the acclaimed author of Mary Reilly, a groundbreaking novel that reexamines the questions of power and resistance, violence and sex, which inform all her work. Set in the surreal heat of the antebellum South during a slave rebellion, PROPERTY takes the form of a dramatic monologue, bringing to the page a voice rarely heard in American fiction: the voice of a woman slave holder. Manon Gaudet is pretty and petulant, self-absorbed and bored. She has come to a sugar plantation north of New Orleans as a bride, bringing with her a prized piece of property, the young slave Sarah, only to see Sarah become her husband's mistress and bear his child. As the whispers of a slave rebellion grow louder and more threatening, Manon speaks to us of her past and her present, her longings and dreams - an uncensored, pitch-perfect voice from the heart of moral darkness. PROPERTY is riveting fiction, fast, richly plotted, shimmering with visual detail. It is also an invitation to re-examine the traditions of the Southern novel and the myth of the chivalrous South, and a haunting meditation on what Valerie Martin has called the fantastic and constant perversity of the oppressor to feel victimized by the oppressed. Review:"The vivid imagination that allowed Martin to create...Mary Reilly is again evident in this powerful story....[C]ompelling..." Publishers Weekly Review:"Property is a ferociously honest book attacking a subject that has long been wrapped in what her heroine calls 'lies without end': race in America....Property is the kind of novel that reminds you that literary fiction still has the power to take us where no other art form can, and that in doing so it can remake the way we understand ourselves." Laura Miller, Salon.com Review:"Some of the scenes in the novel are so astonishing they would not work if Martin did not have such a fine and sure touch. Reading Property brings to mind the work of Kara Walker, the prodigious paper artist who makes sublime Victorian-style silhouettes depicting, with surreal detail, the monstrous and forcibly sensual ties between master and slave." Yxta Maya Murray, The Washington Post Review:"The book is taut and atmospheric and effectively chronicles an obsessive fixation." Kristine Huntley, Booklist Review:"[A]n austere study of power disguised as a lush antebellum romance....None of Martin's characters has the greatness of heart to feel for the others, and the reader's emotional attachment to the work is deliberately thwarted. Instead we see the power of the strong...and the power of the weak...combine to lay waste to all happiness." Penelope Mesic, Book Magazine Review:"I made the 'mistake' of glancing at the opening page and was instantly hijacked into the text. This fresh, unsentimental look at what slaveowning does to (and for) one's interior life must be a first. And the writing — so prised and clean-limbed — is a marvel." Toni Morrison, author of Beloved and Paradise Review:"[Property] is a brilliant, chillingly revelatory piece of fiction, a work of craft, economy and such good merciless observation — one of those rare, crucial novels illuminating a history we think we know and understand so that after we've read it we'll never forget its truth." Ali Smith, author of Hotel World Review:"A wonderful novel, vivid, revealing." Carol Shields, author of The Stone Diaries Review:"In this stunningly powerful novel, Valerie Martin's gifts — a fearless originality and seemingly limitless perspective combined with a cool and elegant intelligence — are all on splendid display." Barbara Gowdy Review:"[Property] is vivid and gripping. I read it in one gulp."
Marilyn French Synopsis:From the acclaimed author of Mary Reilly comes a groundbreaking novel set in the antebellum South during a slave rebellion, told by Manon Gaudet, a female slave owner who speaks about her past, her present, and her longings in an uncensored, pitch-perfect voice from the heart of moral darkness. About the AuthorValerie Martin's works include the novels Mary Reilly, The Great Divorce, and Italian Fever. Her most recent book, Salvation, is a reconsideration of St. Francis?s life. A native of New Orleans, Martin now lives in upstate New York. What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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