All Souls' Rising - Hardcover

Bell, Madison Smartt

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0140141170 ISBN 13: 9780140141177

Publisher: Penguin Books / Granta, 1996

Synopsis

The Haiti of this novel is a malarial, fetid place, haunted by its genocidal past. The slaves are planning a rebellion and the aristocratic French plantation owners are preparing to crush it. At the heart of the novel lies Toussaint Louverture, a self-educated, second-generation African slave.

About this title

Review

"As powerful as a hurricane. . . . All Souls' Rising is really about us, our times, our prejudices, our race wars." -"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
"A serious historical novel that reads like a dream." -"The Washington Post Book World"
"Rich and ambitious. . . . One of the most sophisticated fictional treatments of the enduring themes of class, color, and freedom." -"San Francisco Chronicle
"
"A powerful and intelligent novel. . . . Historical fiction in the monumental manner." -"The New York Times Book Review
"
"A beautifully composed, eloquent, grand nightmare of a book. With it, Bell becomes as remarkable a historical novelist as we have in this country." -Harold Bloom
"A work of breathtaking stylistic expertise on a large scale, easily [Bell's] most daring and accomplished novel." --"The Baltimore Sun"
"A passionately engaged opus. All Souls' Rising reflects both a sustained imaginative audacity and great intellectual resourcefulness." --"The New Yorker"
"Remarkable. . . . All Souls' Rising deserves to be read for its fictional representation of history and for its compelling characterizations. But its political importance should not be underestimated. . . . Bell's excursion into revolutionary Haiti is the attempt of an undaunted novelist to stand face to face, as it were, with the prehistory of our own racial divisiveness. . . . An important book." --"The Oregonian"
"I've known Madison Smartt Bell's work for quite a while, and this is the best thing he's ever done-and probably the best thing he'll ever do, which is my definition of a masterpiece. All Souls' Rising is simply breathtaking." --Gloria Naylor
"The scope of this ambitious narrative is heroic. . . . Bell demonstrates that each race destroys itself in doing evil to the other." --"Chicago Tribune"
"A major work, a triumph of both storytelling and inspired historical analysis." --Robert Stone
"A vivid, visceral tale. . . . [Bell] has taken the events of eighteenth-century colonial Haiti and made them a prism for the most divisive issues confronting us today." --"The Philadelphia Inquirer
"
"Bell's luminous, intelligent novel . . . is magnificent. It restores my faith in the energy of American fiction." --Barbara Probst Solomon

As powerful as a hurricane. . . . All Souls Rising is really about us, our times, our prejudices, our race wars. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A serious historical novel that reads like a dream. The Washington Post Book World
Rich and ambitious. . . . One of the most sophisticated fictional treatments of the enduring themes of class, color, and freedom. San Francisco Chronicle

A powerful and intelligent novel. . . . Historical fiction in the monumental manner. The New York Times Book Review

A beautifully composed, eloquent, grand nightmare of a book. With it, Bell becomes as remarkable a historical novelist as we have in this country. Harold Bloom
A work of breathtaking stylistic expertise on a large scale, easily [Bell s] most daring and accomplished novel. The Baltimore Sun
A passionately engaged opus. All Souls Rising reflects both a sustained imaginative audacity and great intellectual resourcefulness. The New Yorker
Remarkable. . . . All Souls Rising deserves to be read for its fictional representation of history and for its compelling characterizations. But its political importance should not be underestimated. . . . Bell s excursion into revolutionary Haiti is the attempt of an undaunted novelist to stand face to face, as it were, with the prehistory of our own racial divisiveness. . . . An important book. The Oregonian
I ve known Madison Smartt Bell s work for quite a while, and this is the best thing he s ever done and probably the best thing he ll ever do, which is my definition of a masterpiece. All Souls Rising is simply breathtaking. Gloria Naylor
The scope of this ambitious narrative is heroic. . . . Bell demonstrates that each race destroys itself in doing evil to the other. Chicago Tribune
A major work, a triumph of both storytelling and inspired historical analysis. Robert Stone
A vivid, visceral tale. . . . [Bell] has taken the events of eighteenth-century colonial Haiti and made them a prism for the most divisive issues confronting us today. The Philadelphia Inquirer

Bell s luminous, intelligent novel . . . is magnificent. It restores my faith in the energy of American fiction. Barbara Probst Solomon"

"As powerful as a hurricane. . . . All Souls' Rising is really about us, our times, our prejudices, our race wars." -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"A serious historical novel that reads like a dream." -The Washington Post Book World

"Rich and ambitious. . . . One of the most sophisticated fictional treatments of the enduring themes of class, color, and freedom." -San Francisco Chronicle

"A powerful and intelligent novel. . . . Historical fiction in the monumental manner." -The New York Times Book Review

"A beautifully composed, eloquent, grand nightmare of a book. With it, Bell becomes as remarkable a historical novelist as we have in this country." -Harold Bloom

"A work of breathtaking stylistic expertise on a large scale, easily [Bell's] most daring and accomplished novel." --The Baltimore Sun

"A passionately engaged opus. All Souls' Rising reflects both a sustained imaginative audacity and great intellectual resourcefulness." --The New Yorker

"Remarkable. . . . All Souls' Rising deserves to be read for its fictional representation of history and for its compelling characterizations. But its political importance should not be underestimated. . . . Bell's excursion into revolutionary Haiti is the attempt of an undaunted novelist to stand face to face, as it were, with the prehistory of our own racial divisiveness. . . . An important book." --The Oregonian

"I've known Madison Smartt Bell's work for quite a while, and this is the best thing he's ever done-and probably the best thing he'll ever do, which is my definition of a masterpiece. All Souls' Rising is simply breathtaking." --Gloria Naylor

"The scope of this ambitious narrative is heroic. . . . Bell demonstrates that each race destroys itself in doing evil to the other." --Chicago Tribune

"A major work, a triumph of both storytelling and inspired historical analysis." --Robert Stone

"A vivid, visceral tale. . . . [Bell] has taken the events of eighteenth-century colonial Haiti and made them a prism for the most divisive issues confronting us today." --The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Bell's luminous, intelligent novel . . . is magnificent. It restores my faith in the energy of American fiction." --Barbara Probst Solomon

About the Author

Madison Smartt Bell is the author of fourteen works of fiction, including The Stone That the Builder Refused; Master of the Crossroads; Save Me, Joe Louis; Dr. Sleep; Soldier's Joy; and Ten Indians. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his family and teaches at Goucher College.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books / Granta
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0140141170
• ISBN 13: 9780140141177
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 544
• Editor: Doyle Ursula