{"product_id":"the-book-of-harlan-9781617754456","title":"The Book of Harlan","description":"\u003cp\u003eBernice L. McFadden has been named the \u003cb\u003eGo On Girl  Book Club\u003c\/b\u003e's 2018 Author of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWINNER of the \u003cb\u003e2017 American Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWINNER of the \u003cb\u003eNAACP Image Award\u003c\/b\u003e for Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2017 \u003cb\u003eHurston\/Wright Legacy Award\u003c\/b\u003e Nominee (Fiction) \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e Notable Book of 2016\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"McFadden uses the experiences of her own ancestors as loose inspiration for the life of Harlan, whom she portrays from his childhood in Harlem through imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp and his struggles afterward to put his life back together.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Simply miraculous...As her saga becomes ever more spellbinding, so does the reader's astonishment at the magic she creates. This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit over bigotry, intolerance and cruelty, and at the center of \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/i\u003e is the restorative force that is music.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Bernice L. McFadden took me on a melodious literary journey through time and place in her masterpiece, \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/i\u003e. It's complex, real, and raw...McFadden intricately and purposefully weaves history as a backdrop in her fiction. \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/i\u003e brilliantly explores questions about agency, purpose, freedom, and survival.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, one of Nicole Dennis-Benn's 26 Books From the Last Decade that More People Should Read\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"McFadden's writing breaks the heart--and then heals it again. The perspective of a black man in a concentration camp is unique and harrowing and this is a riveting, worthwhile read.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eToronto Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/i\u003e is an incredible read. Bernice McFadden...has created an amazing novel that speaks to lesser known aspects of the African-American experience and illuminates the human heart and spirit. Her spare prose is rich in details that convey deep emotions and draw the reader in. This fictional narrative of Harlan Elliot's life is firmly grounded amidst real people and places--prime historical fiction, and the best book I have read this year.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistorical Novels Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, Editors' Choice\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"McFadden packs a powerful punch with tight prose and short chapters that bear witness to key events in early twentieth-century history: both World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Great Migration. Partly set in the Jim Crow South, the novel succeeds in showing the prevalence of racism all across the country--whether implemented through institutionalized mechanisms or otherwise. Playing with themes of divine justice and the suffering of the righteous, McFadden presents a remarkably crisp portrait of one average man's extraordinary bravery in the face of pure evil.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, Starred review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/i\u003e opens with the courtship of Harlan's parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia. After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where he eventually becomes a professional musician. When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre--affectionately referred to as \"The Harlem of Paris\" by black American musicians--Harlan jumps at the opportunity, convincing Lizard to join him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into Buchenwald--the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany--irreparably changing the course of Harlan's life. Based on exhaustive research and told in McFadden's mesmeric prose, \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Harlan\u003c\/i\u003e skillfully blends the stories of McFadden's familial ancestors with those of real and imagined characters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e McFadden, Bernice L.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/03\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Akashic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781617754456\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 5.80w x 1.20d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bernice L. McFadden","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32749557514315,"sku":"9781617754456","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0021\/1697\/6715\/products\/img_ac52a065-38d3-48a9-9fb3-26367fdb0597.jpg?v=1597791400","url":"https:\/\/blackbookstore.com\/products\/the-book-of-harlan-9781617754456","provider":"Black Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}