Cane River

By: Lalita Tademy

Narrated by: Shari Belafonte, Jo Marie Payton, Edwina Moore

Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

It is on a medium Creole plantation owned by a family named Derbanne that the stories of four astonishing women who battled vast injustices to create a legacy of hope and achievement came to life. They were women whose lives began in slavery, who weathered the Civil War, and who grappled with the contradictions of emancipation through the turbulent early years of the twentieth century. Through it all, they fought to unite their family and forge success on their own terms.

Amid small farmhouses and a tightly knit community of French-speaking slaves, free people of color, and whites, Tademy's great-great-great-great-grandmother Elisabeth would bear both a proud heritage and the yoke of slavery. Her youngest daughter, Suzette, would be the first to discover the promise - and heartbreak of freedom. Suzette's strong-willed daughter Philomene would use determination born of tragedy to reunite her family and gain unheard-of economic independence. And Emily, Philomene's spirited daughter, would fight to secure her children's just due and preserve their future against dangerous odds.

Check out more selections from Oprah's Book Club.

©2001 by Lalita Tademy (P)2001 by Time Warner AudioBooks (Packaging Elements Only), A Division of Time Warner Trade Publishing

Critic reviews

• An Oprah Book Club Selection

" "Melodic voices and elegant description of four generations of African-American women lull you into the past and bring you into the rich, textured lives of the Derbanne family." (AudioFile)

A story of strong women

If you're listening to this book while driving, it's the kind of book that will make you want to sit in your car in the garage even after you've arrived home because you're not ready to stop listening.

Great book

This was my 1st audio book and I'm glad I choose it. Highly recommend it.

EXCELLENT BOOK

Excellent story, and excellent narration. I read this book while working on a not-so-demanding project at work. It not only helped me through the day, it made the day. I felt as if I were in Cane River and life was as it is now, full of ups and down and seemingly more bad than good, but well worth it as long as you have your family. I look forward to listening/reading alot more from Lalita Tademy.

CAN'T LET GO!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I felt like I was part of the Cane River family. Like I was reading my own family history.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters made you hold on to the story. I had to know what happened next to each one.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator was good. But the story was so good I would have loved the book if I did a traditional read.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I felt a strong connection to the characters and storyline.

Any additional comments?

Nope. Loved it!

Important historical value.

This family’s folly is similar to the stories that I heard my father tell me as a child about Cane River, how one white man swindled his mother out of her inherited land, leaving her poorer and them, the family were forced to be sharecropper rather than heirs because they were colored.

Heavy Heavy Heavy

The women of this family lost their kids, family, and husband's but still kept living despite it ALL.

A little slow!

I did not get what I expected with this book it seemed to drag. The characters all kind of ran together in my opinion. I would not recommend it.

Thought-provoking story

Where does Cane River rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story was thought-provoking in many ways.

Would you be willing to try another book from Lalita Tademy? Why or why not?

Possibly. This storyline jumped around a lot which I realize may be necessary when so many characters are involved over such a large timeframe. It just made it hard to follow and I wanted to learn more about specific characters rather than jumping over time periods in their lives.

How could the performance have been better?

I thought the reading came across as dull and uninteresting. It was a struggle to finish the book as a result.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The beginning was quite good. And throughout there were good lines that made me take pause.

good read

Thi sis my first book by this author and I could not turn off my ipod. The story was compelling and interesting and the narration was excellent. A great historical look at bi-racial and master slave relationships during pre and post civil war. I feel like I know this family and look forward to more books by the same author.

great story

Can't wait to ready more of her books . Great story telling everyone she read