From Publishers Weekly
On April 20, barely a month before the scheduled publication of Randall's retelling of Gone with the Wind from a slave's perspective, a federal district court in Atlanta pulled the plug, ruling that the first-time author had engaged in "unabated piracy" in the crafting of her tale. Whether the book ever makes it into readers' hands, it stands as a spirited reimagination of Mitchell's world, dependent on its predecessor for its context but independent in form and voice. A slip of a tale next to the massive bulk of Mitchell's saga, it relies on tart social observations and imaginative language and, yes, titillating speculation (Ashley ["Dreamy Gentleman"] is gay; Rhett ["R."] betrayed Scarlett ("Other") the night their daughter died) for its appeal. Supplanting elite white Southern society with an elite Creole community, the novel features heroine Cynara (also called Cinnamon and Cindy), Other's mulatto half-sister and R.'s full-time concubine. Cynara is educated; she keeps a diary, through which she tells her story. Settled in a house of her own in Atlanta, she recalls her childhood and describes at length her resentment of her mother Mammy's preference for Other. Cynara has known misery (she was sold to the madam of a whorehouse), but also good fortune: later, she accompanied R. on a grand tour of Europe. After much dwelling on her past, she is finally happily distracted by a romance with a black congressman in Washington. Randall's account of the situation of slaves and mixed-race offspring in the antebellum South sometimes slides into a fantasy of empowerment, but her insights are frequent and sharp. Part playful fabrication, part bid for redemption, and full-on venture into our common literary past, her contested work is best defined as honest fiction.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.From Library Journal
Think of Margaret Mitchell's epic Gone with the Wind condensed and told from the perspectives of Mammy and the Tara slaves, and you have Randall's debut novel. This sometimes cryptic but always fascinating story is narrated by Cynara (also Cinnamon or Cindi), the daughter of a slave and a white plantation owner. As the story unfolds, we learn of Cynara's hatred of the white half-sister she calls Other and the privileges bestowed upon Other yet denied Cynara even though they are raised side by side. Both sisters vie for the attentions of Mammy (Cynara's mother and Other's nanny) as children, and for the love of the same man as adults. Through the eyes of Cynara and the other now freed slaves, we get unique perspectives of life on a Southern plantation and of the Reconstruction era. Randall, an established country songwriter, uses language and idiom to haunting and poetic effect. Fans of Toni Morrison's Beloved will enjoy this well-written historical fiction. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/01; a trust for Margaret Mitchell's heirs has filed an injunction to stop this book's publication as a violation of copyright. Ed.] Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib., Chittenango, N.
- Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib., Chittenango, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
- Karen Traynor, Sullivan Free Lib., Chittenango, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
