Remembrance
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- £7.49
Publisher Description
"Stunning. ... Family is at the core of Remembrance, the breathtaking debut novel by Rita Woods." -- The Boston Globe. This breakout historical debut with modern resonance is perfect for the many fans of The Underground Railroad and Orphan Train.
Remembrance…It’s a rumor, a whisper passed in the fields and veiled behind sheets of laundry. A hidden stop on the underground road to freedom, a safe haven protected by more than secrecy…if you can make it there.
Ohio, present day. An elderly woman who is more than she seems warns against rising racism as a young nurse grapples with her life.
Haiti, 1791, on the brink of revolution. When the slave Abigail is forced from her children to take her mistress to safety, she discovers New Orleans has its own powers.
1857 New Orleans—a city of unrest: Following tragedy, house girl Margot is sold just before her promised freedom. Desperate, she escapes and chases a whisper.... Remembrance.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The trauma of slavery forms the core of Woods's arresting debut, which weaves together tales of four black women from the late 1700s to the present day. Gaelle, originally from Haiti, is a nurse's aide working in a care facility in contemporary Ohio, where a dour resident named Winter abruptly grabs her, transmitting a familiar, hot, seemingly otherworldly energy. Stumbling against the wall, Gaelle falls into a dream state. The narrative then jumps to rural 1857 Louisiana, where Margot, a 17-year-old slave, decides to escape to New Orleans, where a priestess named Abigail is rumored to protect slaves. As the story hopscotches through time, it hits 1852, when teenage Winter lives with Abigail in a magical Ohio sanctuary called Remembrance, and 1791, when Abigail honed her powers. But by the time Margot finds Abigail, her powers are beginning to diminish. The magical abilities manifest differently Gaelle can sense the past through touch, Abigail bends space to create a protected area, Margot can heal with her touch, Winter can break into "spaces between spaces" and helps each fight the racist conventions of their eras. Fine attention to sensory details and brutal honesty concerning the horrors of slavery and racial relations over more than two centuries of American history make this a standout.
