From the author of 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 … 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.
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I know that tons of people are reading Marlon James, but I wish EVEN MORE people were reading EVEN MORE Marlon James, because The Book of Night Women is absolutely freakin’ spectacular.
This was an amazing story. James’ attention to detail was stellar. The historical aspect entwined with the fictional gave the tale a flare that kept me turning pages or…listening is more accurate to say. I’d definitely recommend the audio version for this one. The various dialects and inflections would not have made nearly as big of an impression without the audio. The patterns of speech also added new dimensions to the characters.
This story was not without its share of horrific occurrences. Given the time period and setting, such was to be expected. Listening to the audio version brought these aspects of the story into shocking clarity and had me cringing, angry and close to tears on more than one occasion. There are triumphant moments as well. Yes, they were cringe-worthy ‘triumphs’ but ones that were expected (deserved) when they were weighed against the brutality the slave owners hurled at their victims.
The Book of Night Women was set in 18th century Jamaica against the backdrop of rebellion. The slave women of the Montpelier Plantation had been planning to revolt for years. The story opens when that time is about to be realized. The rebellion and its planning however take a backseat to the drama occurring among those living on the estate. Much of that drama surrounds the heroine Lilith.
I enjoyed this story a great deal. I would have enjoyed the story a lot without Lilith’s part in it. It was hard to believe she was the story’s heroine. This was a harsh coming of age story and so I cut her a lot of slack for that reason alone.
Still, I kept expecting-hoping-she would become more likable or that I could at least get a clearer bead on her intentions. I didn’t sense any growth in her character. She continued to make the same immature choices and behaved as though she knew everything. She never displayed the slightest bit of respect for those who knew far more and had experienced far worse than she ever had. Her ‘respect’ it seemed was all for those who had played the greatest part in the brutalities that reigned supreme in the lives of her people.
James weaves a tale, abundant with multi-dimensional characters amid a cruel, dangerous world. He gives depth to every character no matter how small a role they play in the overall story. Marlon James finely positions himself as a true literary talent. I look forward to reading more of his work.
So hard for me to put this book down! I could see and feel the lash of that whip.
This is one of those books that will change you forever.
Because it’s so well written, I could live in this world for a brief moment, but it’s as unpleasant as anything with the meanest white people imaginable, deserving the slave revolt that brews throughout. Just with the n-word alone, never having encountered it so often. Period piece, taking place in the Caribbean 1700s. Shocking and ugly, but musical and poetic too.
Especially during the pandemic, I like my reading to have happy endings, but there is no way this book could have that. It actually ended more hopefully than I thought it could have. Still, I will be thinking about this book for a long time. It was a great education.
Beautifully written and a modern-day classic. This is a book I will read again.
Great insight into days of slavery in America.
Just finished listening to the audio book and WOW, what a story. This is a brutal book filled with violence and bloodshed, but that is what is expected when a novel is set during slavery in a period when the most slave revolts were happening in Jamaica. The author (who is male) chose to make the focus be the female slaves, what they had to endure and how they dealt with it and he did it such a manner that the reader is swept up in what is happening to the characters. The book is narrated by an excellent narrator who conveys the anguish and anger in a believable way and made it made the experience that much more gripping. This book shows the brutality of slavery and how the masters lose their humanity in the process of maintaining the status quo. I cannot say I “enjoyed” the book but it was a great reading experience and I would recommend.
Helps one see different perspectives, sad as they can be
I really liked this book but it was hard to read. The language that was used, grammatically incorrect, was hard to follow in the beginning but I started to replace me with I and we with us and it usually helped. This book is about slavery and it’s very difficult to read about the brutality that was enacted against the slaves. However the character development was excellent and the story line compelling.
Couldn’t even finish it
I loved this book. Beautifully written.
This is the second book of Marlon James I’ve read—the first his Booker prize winning A History of seven killings—and though I struggle with the dialect he uses at first, once it becomes familiar his books are masterpieces.
In The Book of Night Women Lilith is a slave on a plantation in Jamaica around the turn of the Eighteenth Century. When she first becomes a woman she struggles to preserve herself intact, and then becomes involved with a group of women who are plotting a slave uprising. The action is grisly and graphic and at times one feels racial guilt for what the white man did to the black, but the things done in Jamaica pale with what I’ve read happened in Haiti before the revolution.
Lilith’s struggles to survive as a slave, brutally mistreated and then loved by an outcast Irish overseer, are believable, and each character in the novel has her own motivation, even her own arc. It’s a cast of characters that seem real, each scarred either by the whip or their past.
It’s not the easiest read, but for those interested in the history of the Americas, and good writing, it’s worth it. I definitely recommend it.
Pretty awful…like beating a dead horse.
Incredibly violent depiction of slave life
For anyone who thinks slavery was just “labor without pay” this book is a reminder of just how cruel that system was.
Stunning! Eye-opening, heart wrenching, painful, hopeful. Definitely a worthy read!
Well written and I sightful
Very hard to get past the thick dialect and understand or empathize with the characters.