The Book of Harlan

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During World War II, two African American musicians are captured by the Nazis in Paris and imprisoned at the Buchenwald concentration camp.The Book of Harlan opens with the courtship of Harlan s parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where he becomes a musician Soon, Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are lured across the Atlantic Ocean to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre affectionately referred to as The Harlem of Paris by black American musicians.When the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into Buchenwald, the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany The experience irreparably changes the course of Harlan s life Based on exhaustive research and told in McFadden s mesmeric prose, The Book of Harlan skillfully blends the stories of McFadden s familial ancestors with those of real and imagined characters. Download The Book of Harlan – kino-fada.fr I give 3.8 stars to The Book of Harlan, Bernice McFadden s newest book which details the life of her grandfather Harlan McFadden I completed this book that read quickly over the course of a day McFadden shares the ups and downs of Harlan s life and shares what it meant to be African American in the first half of the 20th century Here is Harlan s story Harlan was born on December 24, 1917 to Sam and Chappo McFadden depicted in this book as Sam and Emma Elliot The Elliots determined to make I give 3.8 stars to The Book of Harlan, Bernice McFadden s newest book which details the life of her grandfather Harlan McFadden I completed this book that read quickly over the course of a day McFadden shares the ups and downs of Harlan s life and shares what it meant to be African American in the first half of the 20th century Here is Harlan s story Harlan was born on December 24, 1917 to Sam and Chappo McFadden depicted in this book as Sam and Emma Elliot The Elliots determined to make a better life for themselves followed the great migration north and eventually settled in Harlem During their nomadic existence, Harlan stayed at the home of Emma s parents, leading to hatred toward his own parents Whereas many may feel that Emma did not want her son, I gather here that she left him in her parents stable care while she sought out a better life for him The Elliots soon ...4.5 stars I had to take off half a point because of the ending which, without giving away anything, is contrary to what actually happened to an important Nazi figure I don t care for revisionist history unless it s in a speculative work Although, in retrospect, it could have just been the protagonist s reality.Bernice McFadden has written an epic novel about African American life from the early 1900s to 1973 Apparently the novel is partly biographical, the main character being based on her 4.5 stars I had to take off half a point because of the ending which, without giving away anything, is contrary to what actually happened to an important Nazi figure I don t care for revisionist history unless it s in a speculative work Although, in retrospect, it could have just been the protagonist s reality.Bernice M...I enjoyed reading this book very much I loved it There is so much to love in these pages, and so much attention to history There is a loving attention to characters and their foibles that I found very endearing I cared a lot about these people The story resolved itself in an ending that, although completely implausible, was entirely satisfying It was that kind of story a story where I loved the characters and wanted good things to happen to them The book is muchabout heart than hea I enjoyed reading this book very much I loved it There is so much to love in these pages, and so much attention to history There is a loving attention to characters and their foibles that I found very endearing I cared a lot about these people The story resolved itself in an ending that, although completely implausible, was entirely satisfying It was that kind of story a story where I loved the characters and wanted good things to happen to them The book is muchabout heart than head, but I just let it in, and let it be what it was, and let Bernice McFadden tell me her story the way she wanted to tell it I was richly rewarded.The pace is breathless I felt like Alice Through the Looking Glass getting pulled along by the Red Queen Huge shifts in the story can take place in a sentence, or in half a sentence Characters come and go and their stories are full of happenings and then they leave ...Author Bernice McFaddenPrint Length 354 pages Kindle 400 pages hardcover Publisher Akashic Books Reprint edition April 11, 2016 Publication Date April 11, 2016 The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion Frederick Douglass printed in The Book of Harlan, page 281, Kindle There are rare literary moments when a reader is given a gift so magnificent that it defies adequate definition when Seshat embraces and guides the writer s pen and thoughts, leading them thr Author Bernice McFaddenPrint Length 354 pages Kindle 400 pages hardcover Publisher Akashic Books Reprint edition April 11, 2016 Publication Date April 11, 2016 The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion Frederick Douglass printed in The Book of Harlan, page 281, Kindle There are rare literary moments when a reader is given a gift so magnificent that it defies adequate definition when Seshat embraces and guides the writer s pen and thoughts, leading them through overgrown, encumbered historical paths toward a promised land a place that is quietly pure, emotionally significant, and afforded to few Fortunate for us, Bernice McFadden has ambled along that path, bathed in the elusive light of wisdom and promise and has stamped down the thorny and entangled frondescence so that the beauty at the end...I was over half way through this book before settling in, which makes it hard to rate The only reason I didn t quit the book is because several of my trusted reviewers gave it 4 and 5 stars I m glad I stuck with it because I really started to like it around page 195 and at page 278 I started to love it Problem with that is the book is only 342 pages Even before I started to really enjoy the read, I wasn t oblivious to all the wonderful historical tidbits sprinkled through each chapter As wi I was over half way through this book before settling in, which makes it hard to rate ...Here s my video reviewAlthough The Book of Harlan is about the life and experiences of Harlan, there are many other vignettes throughout the book that focus on the lives of other characters I am very thankful for that because the other stories are what actually saved the overall story for me I did not like Harlan at all He was a selfish, misogynistic, womanizer who was careless with his words and actions His selfishness extended to his parents, friends, and lovers alike I did feel sorry for Harlan, because he su Although The Book of Harlan is about the life and experiences of Harlan, there are many other vignettes throughout the book that focus on the lives of other characters I am very thankful for that because the other stories are what actually saved the overall story for me I did not like Harlan at all He was a selfish, misogynistic, womanizer who was careless with his words and actions His selfishness extended to his parents, friends, and lovers alike I did feel sorry for Harlan, because he survive...I received this book as an early reviewer copy I am glad that I was given the opportunity to read it This is a remarkable story of a man who was born in 1917 lived through the Roaring 20 s, the Great Depression, World War II and the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King All the tumult that occurs in the world during this time is reflected in the life of Harlan Elliot Harlan was born in Macon Georgia and spent his early life there with his grandparents When Harlan s moth I received this book as an early reviewer copy I am glad that I was given the opportunity to read it This is a remarkable story of a man who was born in 1917 lived through the Roaring 20 s, the Great Depression, World War II and the assassinations of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King All the tumult that occurs in the world during this time is reflected in the life of Harlan Elliot Harlan was born in Macon Georgia and spent his early life there with his grandparents When Harlan s mother and father finally came to claim hi...ABSOLUTELY STUNNING To say this is a must read is an understatement Prepare yourself for a magical journey as McFadden catapults you into the life of Harlan The short and impactful chapters kept me captivated as I devoured each page McFadden s writing style grabs you instantly and she never lets you go She exposes life and it s circumstances in a humanly raw magnitude that any reader can relate to You are transported back in time and deposited into monumental eras of history McFadden s ABSOLUTELY STUNNING To say this is a must read is an understatement Prepare yourself for a magical journey as McFadden catapults you into the life of Harlan The short and impactful chapters kept me captivated as I devoured each page McFadden s writing style grabs you instantly and she never lets you go She exposes life and it s circumstances in a humanly raw magnitude that any reader can relate to You are transported back in time and deposited into monumental eras of history McFadden s prose exquisitely glides the reader through the Great Migration of blacks from the south to the north, the Harlem Renaissance, WWII, the Holocaust, the turbulent Civil Rights Era, the assassinations of JFK and MLK, Jr., ending with the tumultuous 1970s a continuation of the 1960s The beauty and gift of McFadden s writing is that you felt like you were right there in the era I could hear the jazz bands, feel the sorrow pain of the pris...3.5 4 stars This was a quick read I found the author s style to be engaging and the story to be compelling Bernice McFadden tells a fictionalized version of her grandfather Harlan s life, from his parents meeting to Harlan s middle age The author describes Harlem in the years before WWII and Harlan and his family s life there, and how Harlan ended up in France, and most frightening, how he ended up in Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany Though the author doesn t get into detail of the 3.5 4 stars This was a quick read I found the author s style to be engaging and the story to be compelling Bernice McFadden tells a fictionalized version of her grandfather Harlan s life, from his parents meeting to Harlan s middle age The author describes Harlem in the years before WWII and Harlan and his family s life there, and how Harlan ended up in France, and most frightening, how he ended up in Buchenwald concentration camp in German...

The Book of Harlan
  • English
  • 06 April 2017
  • Paperback
  • 400 pages
  • 1617754463
  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • The Book of Harlan