Cliquer sur une vignette pour aller sur Google Books.
Chargement... Thempar Nathan McCall
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. Them is a thoughtful and explosive debut novel about the racial tensions that simmer beneath modern society, and how events can change a community forever. SOFT A relatively little known author and title, Them caused quite a stir in our group this month. A large majority felt this ‘sleeper’ of a novel was amazingly well written with complex characters leading the under-dramatized plot to a recognised but heart-aching conclusion. Barlowe Reed and his neighbouring folk had found a comfortable existence within the streets of Old Fourth Ward, and it is fair to say that their reaction to ‘whites’ moving in had its own racial taints. But as our discussion revealed, there was no thought or concern on the part of these new residents as to what a white invasion would do to the area. Historically, Caucasians have always considered their influence to be positive, and to be fair to Sandy, she did have the best intensions. But at no point did she really try to understand Barlowe and his position. It was always just a matter of acceptance and move on for her. Easy to do when you have never been denied anything due to who you are! Barlowe himself was an interesting character. We believe that had he been able to articulate to Sandy, and others, what he felt and saw happening, things may have gone a little better. In the end, he had quite a regard for Sandy (if not for Sean) but the gulf was too wide and too many situations miss-read for the outcome to be anything other than what it was. An honest look at cultural divides and the attitudes that keep us that way, this book is certainly not to everyone’s taste, but the surrounding discussion could not have been better, which should clearly put Them on all discerning bookclub lists. This book asks the age-old question: "Who are the 'us' and who are the 'them'?" In Them, a black household and a white household live next door to each other, and they have to learn about how the other half lives basically. I think this book was well-written, the story flowed well, and it gives an insight on some of the idiosyncrasies about race relations and stereotyping. I would definitely recommend this book. I think I probably liked this book more as an audio book than I would have in print. The narrator, Mirron Willis, did an excellent job of depicting the characters as he told the story. Both he and the author, Nathan McCall, are African-American and it is very much a book written in the black voice about the black experience. It was very interesting to see how those characters, especially Barlowe, experienced the white characters in the book who, well-intentioned or not, are believable, especially when shown from the outside rather than the inside. It's not a very optimistic story about the cost to the residents of a historically black neighborhood when it is gentrified - and you can read that, goes white. All in all, I'd say this book was quite educational, and I'm glad I "read" it. It was also interesting who the "Them" was at any given point in the story. Barlowe Reed is a single, African American man living in a home with his nephew in the old Fourth Ward of Atlanta. He is fed up with Caeser (his name for white authority) and continues to work as a printer and hang out with the local black men at the Minimart. Then one day a white couple buys the house next door to Barlowe. Before you know it more white people start moving into the neighborhood and the locals of the old Fourth Ward aren’t pleased. This is a story full of racial tension throughout and the climax is predictable, but very thought provoking. The characters are very simple, but complex and Mr. McCall brings us into the realms of racial prejudice from both sides of the fence. I listened to the audio book which was read superbly by Mr. McCall. This is a well written novel that holds your attention to the end.
NATHAN McCall's Them is a perceptive account of urban race relations in contemporary America. At its heart is the reality of gentrification, which, in Atlanta's Fourth Ward, sees a kind of demographic reversal of the "white flight" common after desegregation. What this provocative novel lacks in literary style it makes up for in clear-eyed and gritty cultural reportage. Prix et récompenses
Fiction.
Literature.
HTML: Barlowe, a single, African American in his forties, shares a ramshackle house with his nephew in an Atlanta neighborhood, the old Fourth Ward, known both as the center of the civil rights movement and for its main street, Auburn Avenue, once the richest Negro street in the world. Barlowe works as a printer and passes the time reading books from the neighborhood library and hanging out with other local black men at the corner store. When a white married couple buys and renovates the house next door, everyone tries to go about their daily business, but fear and suspicion build as more whites move in, making once familiar people and places disappear. Superbly developed characters, realistic story line, and descriptions that capture the essence of American urban experienceâ??in black and whiteâ??make this a truly great American novel Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
Est-ce vous ?Devenez un(e) auteur LibraryThing. |