Table of Contents

IN

About the Author

J. California Cooperis the author of several novels, including Some People, Some Places, and six collections of stories. She was honored as Black Playwright of the Year, and her work received the American Book Award, the James Baldwin Writing Award, and the Literary Lion Award from the American Library Association. She died in 2014.

Reviews

"Many novels have been written about slavery, but this one is original, stirring, vividly personal and painfully intense." —Los Angeles Times

"The sort of book that ought to be read out loud. Both eerie and saddening, [and] filled with tragedies, it is also about survival. In its strong rhythms and colloquial expression, this book is a living woman's monologue." —The New York Times Book Review

"What most distinguishes Family . . . is the persistant affirmation of the power of the human spirit to do battle with evil—and to win, even if only for a while." —Chicago Tribune

"What a voice. . . . Cooper celebrates family, freedom, perseverance, life, and . . . powerful voices finally heard." —The Atlanta Constitution

“With power and grace, Cooper weaves the dialect, styles and myths of the South into a portrait of the hell that was slavery.... Masterful.”
—Publishers Weekly

"Many novels have been written about slavery, but this one is original, stirring, vividly personal and painfully intense." -Los Angeles Times

"The sort of book that ought to be read out loud. Both eerie and saddening, [and] filled with tragedies, it is also about survival. In its strong rhythms and colloquial expression, this book is a living woman's monologue." -The New York Times Book Review

"What most distinguishes Family . . . is the persistant affirmation of the power of the human spirit to do battle with evil-and to win, even if only for a while." -Chicago Tribune

"What a voice. . . . Cooper celebrates family, freedom, perseverance, life, and . . . powerful voices finally heard." -The Atlanta Constitution

"With power and grace, Cooper weaves the dialect, styles and myths of the South into a portrait of the hell that was slavery.... Masterful."
-Publishers Weekly

YA-- This affecting historical novel, set in the pre-Civil War South, is narrated by a slave named Clora. She describes the life she and her mother share, her mother's suicide, her own unsuccessful attempt to kill her children, and the successful taking of her own life to escape mistreatment by her masters. After her death, Clora follows her children's lives in spirit form (interestingly depicted on the cover). The treatment of the slaves is heart-wrenching. Although vivid details make readers identify with the characters and feel their pain, Cooper's writing skill will draw them into the story, despite knowing in advance that it will hurt. While the generous use of white space on each page gives the book a juvenile appearance, the format, emotional tone, and use of dialect make it more appropriate for more mature YAs. An excellent book about slave life in the pre- and post- Civil War era.--Jacqueline J. Craig, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Cooper adopts an unorthodox perspective in this tale of one family's suffering under slavery. Typical of pre-Civil War times, the female slaves in this novel were sexually abused by the master of the land, often bearing him children who were later taken away and sold. The women went through life not knowing what had become of their offspring or experiencing a loving male/female relationship. Such is the lot of this book's protagonist. Early in Cooper's story, the young mother attempts to poison herself and her children. She dies but her children survive. The novel then describes in painful detail the poor soul's oversight of her children from beyond the grave. Although most of them land on their feet eventually, until that point their interrelated stories are wrenching. Cooper writes in dialect but occasionally slips into standard English, which can be disconcerting. Nevertheless, recommended for public libraries.-- Kimberly G. Allen, National Assn. of Home Builders Lib., Washington, D.C.