The River Where Blood Is Born

by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Book Overview

This astonishing novel takes us on a journey along the river of one family's history, carving a course across two centuries and three continents, from ancient Africa into today's America. Here,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 034542476X
• ISBN13: 9780345424761
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 434 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

ONE OF THE MOST MAGNIFICENT STORIES EVER TOLD

I feel so strongly about the power of this book that I do not even know where to begin. I read it for the first time as a Senior in highschool. I am now a Junior at Spelman College and have since read many more books by far more famous authors and I must say that none of them have come close to the lyrical beauty, and magically woven story of The River Where Blood is Born. It is the most prized book in my collection, and if I could give it ten stars I would. It is the story of nine generations of women whose ancestry begins in Africa. The author traces the lineage from before the slave trade, through abolition, the turbulent civil rights and 70s era, on to present day. The beauty is that through such an expansive period of time the story maintains it's connectiveness from the first ancestor to the last offspring such that the reader has a lasting sense of where it all began. It is not just a book for women nor for African-Americans. It is a book for anyone who has ever wished to understand and feel a connection to their past. For the patient and open minded reader it will prove to be a most rewarding experience. I hope you decide to read it, there is no doubt you will enjoy!

Totally absorbing

I borrowed this book from a friend and didn't want to return it. It was terrific! It traces the history of nine generations of women from Africa, to the Caribbean, to America and back to Africa again. The characters are vividly portrayed and believable. The story is readable and the connections between the female characters are fascinating. African folklore and myth are incorporated into the book in a fascinating and relevant manner. My only gripe is a minor one -- some of the women's story lines weren't as fully developed as I would have liked. But that did not in anyway detract from the power of the narrative.

A fantastic, thoughtful engaging read.

Ms. Jackson-Opoku's novel is a wonderful weaving of history and women's lives in the temporal and spiritual worlds. Once I accepted Anansi as a figure beyond the children's book, I was hooked. The characters are so familiar that you want to invite them into your own life, then you realize, they're already there.

The finest novel I've read in years

It's a women's thing, it's an African-American thing, and this nice Jewish boy couIdn't put it down. The novel may favorable be compared with the works of Toni Morrison and Chinua Achebe, yet has its own wonderful voice. I work in a bookstore, managing the fiction dep't. I watch a lot of stuff go by, read some of it, and I haven't seen anything as good as The River Where Blood is Born in years. As soon as I read it, I told our buyers' office to order plenty, because I could easily sell it to customers. I pledged to sell 100 in six months, which would put it in NYT bestseller range for our store. I've sold 75 in five weeks and have no intention of slowing down. Our customers love it. This novel is what fiction is supposed to be: engaging, thought-provoking, and wise: the sort of book one can't help but finish as soon as possible. The author clearly put her heart and soul into it. I am usually annoyed by novels with too many narrators, but this worked perfectly for me. Each one was convincing and distinct from the previous one. Fiction should be about something important while entertaining the reader. This novel succeeds wildly on both accounts. It explores identity, it doesn't lend itself to easy answers and yet it tells interesting, funny, raunchy, frightening and beautiful stories with seemingly perfect ease. The author spent twenty-one years perfecting this book, and it shows on every page.

The best work presenting the African Diaspora

Sandra Jackson-Opoku has created a tour-de-force of epic proportions. She manages to weave in the history, gender, class and geographic elements of humanity within the African diaspora. This must read covers several countries, time periods and personalities with a hint of the supernatural using folklore and material culture. Through the allegory of Anasi the spider, Opoku moves the reader through time and space. I loved this book tremendously and encourage all people to read it. This is definately what good reading is all about! Moreover, like Alma this is what most people are in search of a place and space where they fit, belong and are welcomed.