The narrative focuses on one black family whose son goes missing. As the distraught, already estranged parents search frantically for him, the story moves through the full spectrum of Atlanta's political, social and cultural life.
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'Puts the reader at the heart of the horror that came to be called the Atlanta child murders' Toni Morrison 'Bambara gives us an indelible, intimate and moving portrait of an American family while at the same time producing a landmark work' Publishers' Weekly 'Toni Cade Bambara's writing is so great it lifts you off the ground' New Statesman
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From the Back Cover
'A magnum opus' Toni Morrison
The long-awaited paperback edition of Toni Cade Bambara's posthumous epic uncovering the tragedy of the Atlanta child murders and the hidden depths of a city that spawned them.
In the early 1980's more than forty black children were murdered in Atlanta, they had been strangled, beaten and sexually assaulted. Toni Cade Bambara spent 12 years researching those events and the result is a novel of profound scope and impact.
Those Bones Are Not My Child tells the story of one black family whose son goes missing just as the abductions begin to be reported. As the distraught parents search frantically for their child, the full spectrum of Atlanta's political, social and cultural life is revealed, illuminating the complex issues of race and class bedevilling the city, the 'South' and underpinning America itself.
Toni Cade Bambara wrote two short story collections - Gorilla, My Love and The Sea Birds Are Still Alive; a novel, The Salt Eaters; and a collection of fiction, essays and conversations, Deep Sightings and Rescue Missions. She died in 1995.
'Captures for all time a nightmare of private hate and public racism.' Independent on Sunday
'Bambara has produced both a human drama and a steely report on contemporary society ... admirable.' The Times
'An important and impassioned work which carries the reader forward on a quest for truth and justice.' New Internationalist
'A huge American novel, redolent of our own times, of contemporary torment and determination to saw through and dig out the roots of racist injustice both sides of the Atlantic.' Morning Star
'Bambara's achievement - in this masterly work - is to voice this sense of loss, to give full human dimension to events that for too long many of us flashed by like billboards at highway speed.' New York Times Book Review --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By sarah10409
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Granted, this is not an easy book to get into, but after seeing bad reviews (after I'd bought it) and a slow beginning, I was immensely glad I'd made the time. If you want tidy endings and clear-cut moral statements, stay away. But I found reading this tender, carefully drawn, sometimes claustrophobic portrait of an already-splintered family in a time of complete crisis fascinating and very moving. And the horrors the family and their community go through on the personal level of what is being done to their children is made all the more interesting - and appalling - by the context of the racism to which they are subjected by the press and the American authorities. Beyond the family's experiences is the all-too-widespread issue of white (British as well and American) society's attitude to the death of black children, valuing them so far below white kids, and the personal as well as political tragedies that result from this prejudice. But this book also shows the commitment and bravery of communities facing such discrimination and pain, and as a subtext gives an intricate account of the way that people pull together and the inspiring ways that communities and local organisations defy the powers-that-be to try and challenge their situation.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I am in complete agreement with the previous reviewer. I found this book tedious in the extreme. I only finished it because there is so much work gone into writing it by the author. I almost felt duty bound. The narrative was difficult to follow and who all the people were evaded my mind. There was a distinct lack of continuity and being in the vernacular made it even more difficult to read / enjoy. What should have been a social statement lacked any cohesion and in fact, was annoying to read.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
By all measures this should be a monumental work on the nature of prejudice, racism, poverty and a mother's search for her son. Instead it is (unfortunately) just TOO LONG. I had a review copy before it was published and I just couldn't drag myself through the book. Each time I looked at it, it was glowering back at me. I love reading but this book was too much like hard work. It gets confused about what its trying to be and where its trying to go. Which is a big shame because the subject - the Atlanta child killings of 1979/80 - is well worth investigation. The author died before the book got to print so it was edited and published by her friend Toni Morrison. A tough job! How can you cut and slash the work of a dead friend? Sadly, the book would have more impact and get more readers if it was half as long and twice as punchy.
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