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aimeesue's review against another edition
4.0
The Conjure Woman is a series of stories set in the post Civil War south, told by a former slave who now works for the Northern (carpetbagging) family that has bought the old plantation where he lives. While they are much like the Uncle Remus stories of B'rer Fox and B'rer Bear, in that they also make use of a native narrator who talks in dialect, the Conjure Woman stories speak much more openly about the horrors of slavery. That this is done in an off- hand, that's -Just-what-happened tone makes it that much more horrible for the modern reader. Highly recommended.
imagined245's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
stephh's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
allym's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
angelic712's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating collection of old folk stories of American slaves, though I wish it could have been told without the racist voice.
toastyyslut's review against another edition
interesting to get through & dissect // southern lit
heidenkind's review against another edition
4.0
Super-clever writing and fascinating folk tales. A must-read, I'd say.
kidclamp's review against another edition
4.0
Inspired by the feeling of a lack of knowledge while I was reading 'Nigger Heaven' I thought I would try out some Chesnutt as he was a favorite of the female lead in the other book. This ended up being one of those books that I am surprised has not been more widely acknowledged or read.
The book is a collection of short stories, told by an ex-slave to the two white northerners who buy the plantation he used to belong to. Hired as their chauffeur he relates tales of the plantation, usually with some sort of moral, and usually to his own benefit. Told in deep dialect this book covers many southern folk-tales and beliefs of the slaves.
Once again, like with 'Nigger Heaven', I still feel like I don't know enough about the literature of the time or the history to really judge this book but I personally enjoyed it. The dialect can be a bit rough at times, and I never did quite figure out how some of the words should sound, but it didn't detract from the stories at all and really did help them feel authentic.
With the clever depiction of the ex-slave leading his employers to makes choices benefitting him in the end, even though they were aware of his motives, and the attention to preserving the dialects I don't really know why this book isn't more well known and read along side of Twain and other southern writers. Highly recommended by me
The book is a collection of short stories, told by an ex-slave to the two white northerners who buy the plantation he used to belong to. Hired as their chauffeur he relates tales of the plantation, usually with some sort of moral, and usually to his own benefit. Told in deep dialect this book covers many southern folk-tales and beliefs of the slaves.
Once again, like with 'Nigger Heaven', I still feel like I don't know enough about the literature of the time or the history to really judge this book but I personally enjoyed it. The dialect can be a bit rough at times, and I never did quite figure out how some of the words should sound, but it didn't detract from the stories at all and really did help them feel authentic.
With the clever depiction of the ex-slave leading his employers to makes choices benefitting him in the end, even though they were aware of his motives, and the attention to preserving the dialects I don't really know why this book isn't more well known and read along side of Twain and other southern writers. Highly recommended by me
lindseyzank's review against another edition
4.0
Chesnutt should be commended for writing almost exclusively in black vernacular of the post Civil War era in the U.S. from the point of view of a free black man. These stories are exhaustingly difficult to read, yet are also enjoyable if read aloud. The authenticity of the language is undeniable. The conjure tales were fascinating and whimsical. Slaves believed family and love to be more important than freedom in these tales which I found touching. My only criticism is that the tales are strewn together through the device of this Northern white couple who comes to stay in the South. While I recognize that Chesnutt is speaking back at the traditional plantation narrative in which slavery was idealized and there was a sense of nolstalgia for it on the part of the black man, I felt unsatisfied by these two characters.