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1 of 1 copy available
“A triumph . . . Redwood Court is storytelling at its best: tender, vivid, and richly complicated.”—Jacqueline Woodson, New York Times bestselling author of Red at the Bone
FINALIST FOR THE WILLIE MORRIS AWARD FOR SOUTHERN FICTION
“Mika, you sit at our feet all these hours and days, hearing us tell our tales. You have all these stories inside you: all the stories everyone in our family knows and all the stories everyone in our family tells. You write ’em in your books and show everyone who we are.”
So begins award-winning poet DéLana R. A. Dameron’s debut novel, Redwood Court. The baby of the family, Mika Tabor spends much of her time in the care of loved ones, listening to their stories and witnessing their struggles. On Redwood Court, the cul-de-sac in the all-Black working-class suburb of Columbia, South Carolina, where her grandparents live, Mika learns important lessons from the people who raise her: her exhausted parents, who work long hours at multiple jobs while still making sure their kids experience the adventure of family vacations; her older sister, who in a house filled with Motown would rather listen to Alanis Morrisette; her retired grandparents, children of Jim Crow, who realized their own vision of success when they bought their house on the Court in the 1960s, imagining it filled with future generations; and the many neighbors who hold tight to the community they’ve built, committed to fostering joy and love in an America so insistent on seeing Black people stumble and fall.
With visceral clarity and powerful prose, Dameron reveals the devastation of being made to feel invisible and the transformative power of being seen. Redwood Court is a celebration of extraordinary, ordinary people striving to achieve their own American dreams.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 6, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593795873
- File size: 266996 KB
- Duration: 09:16:14
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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July 1, 2024
One Black working-class family in Columbia, SC, achieves their American dream when they purchase a house during the 1960s. With hard work, the family expands and prospers. The second generation stays nearby as they grow up, marry, and have their own children. As the grandchildren come along, the house on Redwood Court becomes the family focal point for holidays, birthdays, and general gatherings. The family has strict rules of conduct and traditions that keep them close to each other and their community. Mika, the youngest grandchild, spends much time with her elders and is especially close to her grandfather. As Mika grows up in the 1990s, she notes the different ways in which the members of her family make their way in the world and learns lessons about love, loss, and responsibility. In her first full-length novel, poet Dameron (How God Ends Us) follows one family through the generations, thoughtfully situating the story within well-described historical contexts and laying bare the difficulties of living in a racially biased society. Alternating narration by a group of five talented actors provides various viewpoints. Ashley J. Hobbs, who narrates the part of Mika, is a standout. VERDICT A heartwarming, kaleidoscopic portrait of a Black American family.--Joanna M. Burkhardt
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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