Items related to Black Baby
When Alice was twelve the nuns had approached her about buying a black baby as a way of giving money to the missions. More than fifty years later, Alice has a visit from a strange black woman who offers friendship - but as a costly exchange for Alice's cherished preconceptions and old values.
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Review:
A touching story of companionship from one of the unsung heroes of contemporary Irish literature, Black Baby is a complex novel that traces the tragic and comic effects of human loneliness. Alice is an elderly spinster whose Christmas speech to her nephews ends with "I am all alone in the world. I have neither chick nor child" as she passes year by predictable year in the same Dublin house she was born in. One stormy night, Alice opens her door to Dinah, a spirited black woman whom Alice becomes convinced is the black baby she "adopted" from the missionaries of Africa when she was a child. This new-found daughter breathes warmth and energy into Alice's barren existence, and a friendship ensues that becomes the beloved focus of a lonely woman's life. Clare Boylan has written a moving novel that is punctuated with laugh-out-loud scenes of absurdity reminiscent of fellow Irishman Flann O'Brien: "...it was not Mrs Willoughby's hand which had struck the table, but her head. The vigilant glass eyes of the fox stared up from the bread plate, its dead paws flung out in alarm beside the dead head of its owner." Magical and absorbing, this book is a wonder to read. --Shannon Bingham
Review:
Sexual generosity triumphs over terrified frigidity, warmth dries out cold, renewal stamps out decay... This is a novelist who alters one's ways of seeing (SUNDAY TIMES)
Splendidly original and richly comic... the writing is a joy (IRISH TIMES)
The book I have read with the greatest pleasure, amusement and deep sympathy (Molly Keane, SUNDAY TIMES)
Humorous and inventive... it spills over with affections for strangeness and wayward warmth (THE TIMES)
Splendidly original and richly comic... the writing is a joy (IRISH TIMES)
The book I have read with the greatest pleasure, amusement and deep sympathy (Molly Keane, SUNDAY TIMES)
Humorous and inventive... it spills over with affections for strangeness and wayward warmth (THE TIMES)
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- PublisherPenguin
- Publication date1989
- ISBN 10 0140117113
- ISBN 13 9780140117110
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages224
- Rating
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fair. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR003072882
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Black Baby This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780140117110
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Book Description Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned. Seller Inventory # wbs5263722095
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780140117110
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Black Baby
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Penguin Books Canada, Limited, Toronto, ON, Canada
(1989)
ISBN 10: 0140117113
ISBN 13: 9780140117110
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Book Description Mass Market Paperback. Condition: Very Good +. First Edition 1st Printing. Please email us if you would like further information or if you would like us to send you a picture of the book. Thanks for looking! Size: 16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 000207x
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Book Description Condition: Very Good. 1989. Paperback. Good clean copy with minor shelf wear. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # KSS0009946
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Book Description Condition: Very Good. 1989. Paperback. Good clean copy with minor shelf wear. . . . . Seller Inventory # KSS0009946
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