Brown Girl, Brownstones

Name: Brown Girl, Brownstones
Brand: Dover Publications
SKU: SPTM-9780486468327
Price: 12.95 USD
Availability: InStock

$12.95

Product Variants

Biographical Note:
Paule Marshall is the recipient of numerous honors, including a John Dos Passos Award for Literature, an American Book Award, and a MacArthur Fellowship. She holds a distinguished chair in the creative writing program at New York University.

Table of Contents:
Book 1. A Long Day and a Long NightBook 2. PastoraleBook 3. The WarBook 4. Selina

Marc Notes:
Originally published: New York: Random House, 1959.

Brief Description:
Reprint. Originally published: New York: Random House, 1959.

Brief Description:
Set in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II, this 1953 coming-of-age novel centers on the daughter of Barbadian immigrants. "Passionate, compelling." -- Saturday Review. "Remarkable for its courage." -- The New Yorker.

Jacket Description/Back:

"An unforgettable novel, written with pride and anger, with rebellion and tears."--Herald Tribune Book Review
"Passionate, compelling . . . an impressive accomplishment."--Saturday Review
"Remarkable for its courage, its color, and its natural control."--The New Yorker
Selina's mother wants to stay in Brooklyn and earn enough money to buy a brownstone row house, but her father dreams only of returning to his island home. Torn between a romantic nostalgia for the past and a driving ambition for the future, Selina also faces the everyday burdens of poverty and racism.
Written by and about an African-American woman, this coming-of-age story unfolds during the Depression and World War II. Its setting--a close-knit community of immigrants from Barbados--is drawn from the author's own experience, as are the lilting accents and vivid idioms of the characters' speech. Paule Marshall's 1959 novel was among the first to portray the inner life of a young female African-American, as well as depicting the cross-cultural conflict between West Indians and American blacks. It remains a vibrant, compelling tale of self-discovery.
Dover (2009) unabridged republication of the edition published by Random House, Inc., New York, 1959.

Publisher Marketing:
Set in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II, "Brown Girl, Brownstones" is the enduring story of a most extraordinary young woman. Selina Boyce, the daughter of Barbadian immigrants, is caught between the struggles of her hard-working, ambitious mother, who wants to "buy house" and educate her daughters, and her father, who longs to return to the land in Barbados. Selina seeks to define her own identity and values as she struggles to surmount the racism and poverty that surround her. Moving and powerful, "Brown Girl, Brownstones" is both a classic coming-of-age tale and a vivid portrait of one family's struggle to achieve the American Dream.

Publisher Marketing:
"An unforgettable novel, written with pride and anger, with rebellion and tears." -- Herald Tribune Book Review"Passionate, compelling . . . an impressive accomplishment." -- Saturday Review"Remarkable for its courage, its color, and its natural control." -- The New Yorker
Selina's mother wants to stay in Brooklyn and earn enough money to buy a brownstone row house, but her father dreams only of returning to his island home. Torn between a romantic nostalgia for the past and a driving ambition for the future, Selina also faces the everyday burdens of poverty and racism. Written by and about an African-American woman, this coming-of-age story unfolds during the Depression and World War II. Its setting -- a close-knit community of immigrants from Barbados -- is drawn from the author's own experience, as are the lilting accents and vivid idioms of the characters' speech. Paule Marshall's 1959 novel was among the first to portray the inner life of a young female African-American, as well as depicting the cross-cultural conflict between West Indians and American blacks. It remains a vibrant, compelling tale of self-discovery.