AccueilGroupesDiscussionsPlusTendances
Site de recherche
Ce site utilise des cookies pour fournir nos services, optimiser les performances, pour les analyses, et (si vous n'êtes pas connecté) pour les publicités. En utilisant Librarything, vous reconnaissez avoir lu et compris nos conditions générales d'utilisation et de services. Votre utilisation du site et de ses services vaut acceptation de ces conditions et termes.

Résultats trouvés sur Google Books

Cliquer sur une vignette pour aller sur Google Books.

Chargement...

The Undertaker's Assistant

par Amanda SKENANDORE

MembresCritiquesPopularitéÉvaluation moyenneDiscussions
9710277,799 (3.75)Aucun
Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:An enthralling novel of historical fiction for fans of Lisa Wingate and Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Undertaker's Assistant is a powerful story of human resilience set during Reconstruction-era New Orleans that features an extraordinary and unforgettable heroine at its heart.

"The dead can't hurt you. Only the living can." Effie Jones, a former slave who escaped to the Union side as a child, knows the truth of her words. Taken in by an army surgeon and his wife during the War, she learned to read and write, to tolerate the sight of blood and broken bodiesâ??and to forget what is too painful to bear. Now a young freedwoman, she has returned south to New Orleans and earns her living as an embalmer, her steady hand and skillful incisions compensating for her white employer's shortcomings.

Tall and serious, Effie keeps her distance from the other girls in her boarding house, holding tight to the satisfaction she finds in her work. But despite her reticence, two encountersâ??with a charismatic state legislator named Samson Greene, and a beautiful young Creole, Adelineâ??introduce her to new worlds of protests and activism, of soirees and social ambition. Effie decides to seek out the past she has blocked from her memory and try to trace her kin. As her hopes are tested by betrayal, and New Orleans grapples with violence and growing racial turmoil, Effie faces loss and heartache, but also a chance to finally find her place . .
… (plus d'informations)
Aucun
Chargement...

Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre

Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.

Affichage de 1-5 de 10 (suivant | tout afficher)
3.5 stars ( )
  dmurfgal | Dec 9, 2022 |
Good, entertaining and interesting! ( )
  BobbieJR | Jan 14, 2021 |
Effie, a former slave, was taught the art of undertaking by a northern doctor. After the war, she travels back south to New Orleans to find a new life. When she meets Samson Greene, she is immediately stricken by his charisma and ability to turn a phrase. Later, she meets Adeline, a formerly rich woman who is struggling to maintain her lifestyle.

Although the premise of this book was interesting, the characters were flat. They were a bit one-dimensional. There wasn't enough of the post woven in to make Effie believable or likeable. Without interesting characters, the rest of the story was hard to get into. Overall, 2 out of 5 stars. ( )
  JanaRose1 | Mar 6, 2020 |
Not as powerful as Skenandore's debut novel, Between Earth and Sky, but still touching and enlightening. Effie was a great character and I loved the development of the side characters as well. Skenandore is amazing in her attention to detail and historical research. I'm eager to see what else she can produce. ( )
  Kristymk18 | Oct 6, 2019 |
Effie Jones was born a slave before she escaped to Union lines where she was taken in by an army surgeon and taught the trade of embalming as the ward of the surgeon and his wife. Now, ten years after the war Effie is compelled to leave the only home she remembers and travels to New Orleans. Effie knows that there might not be many opportunities for a young freedwoman, but she takes a chance by knocking on the door of Mr. Whitmark, the local Undertaker and a former Union soldier. Mr. Whitmark takes Effie on and while improving the shop, Effie tries to find where she fits in. Effie quickly falls for the orator and state legislator Samson Greene and becomes involved in his political committee fighting for rights. Effie also finds an unlikely friend in Adeline, a Creole who teaches Effie social graces in return for help with her tricks of the spiritual trade. However, Effie is looking for more than friendship and love, she is looking for what she forgot before she was found in the Union camp, a family to miss her when she is gone. The answers Effie is looking for might be closer than she thinks.

Thoughtful and distinctive, The Undertaker's Assistant is a historical fiction novel of Reconstruction era south that intelligently weaves together the experiences of a freedwoman and a woman on a journey of self discovery. I was easily able to connect with Effie's character and the turbulent but exciting times in Reconstruction-era Louisiana. Effie also shows the unique lens Undertaker and the very well researched practice of embalming. The impact of the Civil War left it's mark on more than just the freed slaves and the soldiers. Effie's employer, Mr. Whitmark, a southerner who fought for the Union is treated as an outcast even though the Union won. Adeline is a Creole whose family has been hit by the economic downturn. There is also Sampson Greene who has found his calling in helping others to rise above and using his freedom for political action. With this diverse cross-section of people in one place, I can feel the tension rising over the course of the story. In addition to the setting, Effie's search for herself and ties to her own culture drive a second story line. Effie's quest to discover her roots and the people from her past was heartfelt and emotional. Throughout the story there is a foreboding foreshadowing that something traumatic has happened in Effie's past, I enjoyed the unraveling of the mystery within Effie's mind as her travels revealed hidden memories locked in her mind.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )
  Mishker | Aug 5, 2019 |
Affichage de 1-5 de 10 (suivant | tout afficher)
aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Vous devez vous identifier pour modifier le Partage des connaissances.
Pour plus d'aide, voir la page Aide sur le Partage des connaissances [en anglais].
Titre canonique
Titre original
Titres alternatifs
Date de première publication
Personnes ou personnages
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais. Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
Lieux importants
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais. Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
Évènements importants
Films connexes
Épigraphe
Dédicace
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais. Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
For my beloved sisters Jennifer and Kasandra
Premiers mots
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais. Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
1875
Geo. whitmark, undertaker, read the weather-bleached shingle above the door.
Citations
Derniers mots
Notice de désambigüisation
Directeur de publication
Courtes éloges de critiques
Langue d'origine
DDC/MDS canonique
LCC canonique

Références à cette œuvre sur des ressources externes.

Wikipédia en anglais

Aucun

Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:An enthralling novel of historical fiction for fans of Lisa Wingate and Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Undertaker's Assistant is a powerful story of human resilience set during Reconstruction-era New Orleans that features an extraordinary and unforgettable heroine at its heart.

"The dead can't hurt you. Only the living can." Effie Jones, a former slave who escaped to the Union side as a child, knows the truth of her words. Taken in by an army surgeon and his wife during the War, she learned to read and write, to tolerate the sight of blood and broken bodiesâ??and to forget what is too painful to bear. Now a young freedwoman, she has returned south to New Orleans and earns her living as an embalmer, her steady hand and skillful incisions compensating for her white employer's shortcomings.

Tall and serious, Effie keeps her distance from the other girls in her boarding house, holding tight to the satisfaction she finds in her work. But despite her reticence, two encountersâ??with a charismatic state legislator named Samson Greene, and a beautiful young Creole, Adelineâ??introduce her to new worlds of protests and activism, of soirees and social ambition. Effie decides to seek out the past she has blocked from her memory and try to trace her kin. As her hopes are tested by betrayal, and New Orleans grapples with violence and growing racial turmoil, Effie faces loss and heartache, but also a chance to finally find her place . .

Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque

Description du livre
Résumé sous forme de haïku

Discussion en cours

Aucun

Couvertures populaires

Vos raccourcis

Évaluation

Moyenne: (3.75)
0.5
1
1.5
2 1
2.5 1
3 6
3.5 2
4 4
4.5 1
5 5

Est-ce vous ?

Devenez un(e) auteur LibraryThing.

 

À propos | Contact | LibraryThing.com | Respect de la vie privée et règles d'utilisation | Aide/FAQ | Blog | Boutique | APIs | TinyCat | Bibliothèques historiques | Critiques en avant-première | Partage des connaissances | 203,243,366 livres! | Barre supérieure: Toujours visible