The Book of Night Women

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From the author of the National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf and the WINNER of the 2015 Man Booker Prize for A Brief History of Seven Killings

"An undeniable success.” — The New York Times Book Review

A true triumph of voice and storytelling,
The Book of Night Women rings with both profound authenticity and a distinctly contemporary energy. It is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they- and she-will come to both revere and fear. The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age they see her as the key to their plans. But when she begins to understand her own feelings, desires, and identity, Lilith starts to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman, and risks becoming the conspiracy's weak link. But the real revelation of the book-the secret to the stirring imagery and insistent prose-is Marlon James himself, a young writer at once breath­takingly daring and wholly in command of his craft.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Both beautifully written and devastating…Writing in the spirit of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker but in a style all his own, James has conducted an experiment in how to write the unspeakable— even the unthinkable. And the results of that experiment are an undeniable success.”
The New York Times Book Review

“The narrative voice is so assured and the descriptions so detailed and believable that one can’t help being engaged. This is a book to love. . . .
The Book of Night Women is hard to pick up, even harder to put down . . . and it deserves to be read.”
Chicago Tribune

The Book of Night Women is a searing read, full of blood, tears, and the stench of misery. It’s barbaric and ancient, but also familiar in the ways that people, consumed by their differences and divisions, easily overlook all that binds them— the desire for independence, the right to a civilized life, and the need to give and receive love.”
The Boston Globe

The Book of Night Women is not merely a historical novel. It is a book as heavily peopled and dark as the night in this isolated and brutal place. It is a canticle of love and hate.”
Los Angeles Times

“[Marlon James] has carved strong and compelling female figures out of the harsh landscape of nineteenth-century British-ruled Jamaica . . .
The Book of Night Women’s most poignant feature is James’s sensitive and layered treatment of the unlikely romance that blossoms between Lilith and her Irish overseer.”
— The Miami Herald

“When a novel casts a powerful spell, I find myself trying to locate where it got hold of me. I knew
The Book of Night Women had me when I started waking at night to worry about its characters. . . . Enslave one people and all are trapped. That familiar concept wears flesh and bone in The Book of Night Women. It stands in the wake of Toni Morrison’s transcendent slave literature, and it holds its own.”
— The Cleveland Plain- Dealer

“James has given us an epic novel of late-eighteenth-century West Indian slavery, complete with all its carnage and brutishness, but one that, like a Toni Morrison novel, whispers rather than shouts its horrors.”
Time Out New York

“The narrative voice, with its idiosyncratic inflections and storytelling warmth, will pull you into this outsized, marvelous account . . . James re-creates a world and brushes it with an element of the fantastic, but the emotions he conveys are all too real and heartbreaking.”
Flavorpill

“If you pick up
The Book of Night Women, you might lose a little sleep. The second novel from Kingston native Marlon James will have you flipping pages, thirsty for more story, late into the night. . . . Well crafted and beautifully written...it will stay in your mind for weeks to come.”
BookPage

“Darkly powerful.”
The Washington Post

The Book of Night Women is a slave narrative, a story of rebellion, and a testament to the human heart in conflict with itself. It is a book of rip and rhythm. Of violence and tenderness. Of the healing glance in all the hatred. It reads like Faulkner in another skin. It is a brave book. And like the best, and most dangerous, of stories, it seems as if it was just waiting to be told.”
Colum McCann

“Marlon James has written an exquisite, haunting, and beautiful novel, impossible to resist. Like the best of literature,
The Book of Night Women deserves to be passed down hand to hand, generation to generation.”
Dinaw Mengestu

“With
The Book of Night Women, Marlon James proves himself to be Jamaica’s answer to Junot Díaz, Edwidge Danticat, and Zadie Smith. James imbues his lively, energetic prose and unforgettable characters with a precocious wisdom about love, race, and history that none of us has ever seen before, but that feels alive, even definitive, as soon as we’ve read it.”
Colin Channer, author of The Girl with the Golden Shoes

“Marlon James’s writing brings to mind early Toni Morrison, Jessica Hagedorn, and Gabriel García Márquez.”
Kaylie Jones, author of A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries

“Pile them up, a Marlon James character says repeatedly, and Marlon does just that. Pile them up: language, imagery, technique, imagination. All fresh, all exciting.”
—Chris Abani, author of
The Virgin of Flames and GraceLand

“[An] epic narrative . . . as lyrical as it is hypnotic, even in the most violent passages.”
— The Independent

“A very nearly perfect work; an exquisite blend of form and content. . . . He bestows on the slave account authenticity and authority.”
— The Toronto Globe and Mail
 

About the Author

Marlon James was born in Jamaica in 1970. His most recent novel is A Brief History of Seven Killings, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize. He is also the author of The Book of Night Women, which won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Minnesota Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction and an NAACP Image Award. His first novel, John Crow’s Devil, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. James lives in Minneapolis.

Review:

4.7 out of 5

94.29% of customers are satisfied

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow... Def moving into the favorites list

R.W. · June 29, 2017

It took me a couple restarts of the first few pages to get hooked into this book (possibly because I'm chronically tired lol), but once I got into it, by chapter 2, I was done for. I even stayed up all night against my better judgement to finish the last half. I tried putting it down to sleep, but then kept thinking bout it, had to pick it up, to "read a little more" until the book was done, it was daylight outside and I was now on call. Still worth the on call fatigue.On finishing, I had to reread some sections, because of how blown away I was by every thing that happened and every conflicting thing I felt for the characters, who I thought the were and who they turned out to be, the very imperfect lives I got so wrapped up in. By the end I had soooooo many questions, so many thoughts, so many reflections. I wanted to continue the conversation the book started, I felt bereft and empty... so I did something I never do and have restated the book within 2 days of finishing it.I rarely reread books and when i do, i wait a year or more, but after gorging myself on different reviews and rereading sections, I found myself rereading the book within days of finishing it. The story and characters are that haunting, that real. I think the first time around, I was so engrossed in the plot itself, I didn't take time to see all the other hidden layers (which 2 or 3 pages into my reread, I'm already uncovering). So that's a first.I really wanted to like lilith. On a rational sphere, I understood her hardships and her environment and felt my heart weep for that. But I really could not connect to her the way I usually do. The ability of the author to make me greatly dislike the main character but still want to engage with her and end up loving the book regardless speaks volumes to me.Even in the beginning, it was evident she was headstrong and highspirited, and the author did an amazing job of showing both side of any one quality... ie it helped her (empowered her even) in the case of the Johnny jumper but became tiresome and pathetic in the case of her pursuit of the massa. Actually, this was something he did for most characters, show both sides of the swords of their characteristics, leaving me cheering them on in one breath but then despising or becoming frustrated with them for essentially the same thing in another setting. How fickle we are.He left no weakness unexposed, the dialogue, the description, the conditions of life were brutal, violent, abusive, and even the "best" characters were dirtied by it.The exploration of slavery, and the relationships that came out of it were similarly treated. There was really no "good" relationship, all of them were blatantly tainted with distrust, betrayal, abuse, power struggles and hurt, and yet, that made the establishment of any relationship even more sacred and vulnerable. It's almost like humans had the need to connect to each other on some level and still found a way to overcome all that in order to do so.I am utterly impressed that this was written from a male author - so many points to explore on that.I have so many questions - what is liliths name / what do they call her, the significance of the circle, what happened to homer, are we really all just stuck in a circle in a sense, I mean who is really from their societal brainwashing and bonds. This has me reflecting on slavery, colonialism, post colonialism , garrison politics, dichotomy of third world vs first world and how the master-servant/slave narrative hasn't fundamentally changed, in the global sphere (hello 3rd world tourism - sex, rent a dreads, drugs, crimes, medical procedures and experiments for a fraction of the cost and none of the guilt or values that wud be applied to the same thing in a 1st world setting). Thinking of the devaluation of black/Brown bodies and minds even within the 1st world. But also even in the personal sphere, how much of love is possession, power, control vs compromise, settling, loneliness. These themes and their ability to transcend from liliths story to our everyday life contributes to making this a powerful book.Def recommend. Def re reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Night Women Rock

Y.S. · March 11, 2011

Imagine yourself on a sugar plantation in Jamaica during the late 18th century. You are forced to endure the strongholds of slavery. But this is not where you belong. You feel out of place, peculiar and different.There's nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. All you have is a dream. A dream that someone will see past your black skin into your eyes...your green eyes and rescue you.This is life for Lillith as the main character in The Book of Night Women by Marlon James.Lillith, the daughter of a teenage slave girl and the plantation overseer, is raised in a home with a man and woman that she calls mother and father but she shares no resemblance. Deep in her heart she knows that she is different. Not only does Lillith know that she is different but the Night Women also know as they secretly keep an eye on her. As Lillith matures and comes face-to-face with her "darkness," she is rescued by Homer, the leader of the Night Women. Homer is sure that Lillith just may be the one that will make their plot of a slave revolt successful.I don't recall having ever read a book written with the eloquence, detail and imagery used by Marlon James to bring the Night Women to life. James not only created characters that I could relate to but he created women characters that any woman could relate to. The Night Women possess strength, gumption, skill and a desire for freedom and they're willing to get it at any cost. These women led by Homer, a house slave, aren't fazed by the absence of men in this plot. They carry the load as they strategically use their plantation jobs to work for them. They know everything going on everywhere on the plantation.In the beginning I wasn't sure about this book because the patois/dialect frustrated me initially but I endured and it was well worth my time. I would recommend this book to anyone as a must-read and I nominate James for the Pulitzer Prize (if he is an American citizen that is.) However, for now, Marlon James is the 2011 award winner of the Spinks Prize for literary fiction. :)This book is library worthy!

Mixed feelings!

L.V. · February 8, 2022

I have to admit I haven't finished this book. Why? Because of the raw, respectless descriptions of f.i. a woman being beaten up or being raped. No thank you! Too disrespectful.Such a pity because I think the story should be good. Therefore no more than 3 stars.

Powerful yet tender

L.D. · April 9, 2021

I was torn between 4 and 5 stars for this but ultimately it is better than most of not all months 4 stars I have given, so I have gone for 5. This is the second Marlon James book I have read and like the a brief history of seven killings, James brings an air of mystique to this tale of slavery in 18th century Jamaica. James is able to seamlessly bring together history, folklore, love, hate, anger, revenge, grief and human suffering and his writing is of the highest pregnancy the depth of character and superb character Development really drives this book and takes kingdom good to excellent. His main character Lileth is superbly drawn; I believed in her at all times and felt exactly what she was going through. For me personally I would like the folklore element to have developed but it's a very small gripe in a near perfect read.

Stunning. Disturbing. Haunting. Heartbreaking

A.S. · December 31, 2020

Lilith is an unforgettable character - she blazes through the book, growing in complexity with every page. The language of the book, the dialects etc, made it difficult for me to get into the rhythm of the story in the beginning but once I was about a third of the way through, I was engrossed in the lives of these extraordinary women who bore extraordinary horrors and walked a path of blood and tears as slaves on the sugar plantations in the West Indies.

excellent writer. the theme is very relevant.

e.c. · July 5, 2020

well done. we need more books and talent like hers

Die ganze Misere der Sklaverei in einem wundervollen Epos

H. · June 5, 2019

Diese Lektüre ist absolut nicht einfach, und das aus zwei Gründen: das ganze Buch ist in Jamaika Patois geschrieben und die Handlung ist manchmal sehr brutal und direkt. Mein erster Versuch ging daneben und ich habe aufgegeben, da ich fast nichts verstanden habe. Ich habe dann während meines Jamaika-Urlaubs andere Bücher von Jamaikanischen Schriftstellern gelesen und mich nach und nach an die Schreibweise angewöhnt - was vielleicht auch etwas einfacher war, wenn man es täglich hört. Ich habe deshalb einen zweiten Anlauf genommen und bin absolut begeistert von diesem Buch. Es ist eine traurige Geschichte mit viel Elend aber auch viel Grösse und viel Gefühlen. Die ganze Erzählung geht um Lillith und ihre Entwicklung. Bevor ich ein anderes Buch lesen konnte, brauchte ich nach diesem einige Tage Distanz.

The Book of Night Women

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