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  • The Book of Night Women

  • By: Marlon James
  • Narrated by: Robin Miles
  • Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (3,167 ratings)

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The Book of Night Women

By: Marlon James
Narrated by: Robin Miles
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Publisher's summary

The Book of Night Women is a sweeping, startling novel, a true tour de force of both voice and storytelling. It is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the 18th century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they - and she - will come to both revere and fear. The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age and reveals the extent of her power, they see her as the key to their plans.

But when she begins to understand her own feelings and desires and identity, Lilith starts to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman in Jamaica, and risks becoming the conspiracy's weak link. Lilith's story overflows with high drama and heartbreak, and life on the plantation is rife with dangerous secrets, unspoken jealousies, inhuman violence, and very human emotion - between slave and master, between slave and overseer, and among the slaves themselves. Lilith finds herself at the heart of it all. And all of it told in one of the boldest literary voices to grace the page recently - and the secret of that voice is one of the book's most intriguing mysteries.

©2009 Marlon James (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

"Both beautifully written and devastating... Writing in the spirit of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker but in a style all his own, James has conducted an experiment in how to write the unspeakable - even the unthinkable. And the results of that experiment are an undeniable success.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“The narrative voice is so assured and the descriptions so detailed and believable that one can’t help being engaged. This is a book to love.... The Book of Night Women is hard to pick up, even harder to put down...and it deserves to be read." (Chicago Tribune)

"The Book of Night Women is a searing read, full of blood, tears, and the stench of misery. It’s barbaric and ancient, but also familiar in the ways that people, consumed by their differences and divisions, easily overlook all that binds them - the desire for independence, the right to a civilized life, and the need to give and receive love.” (The Boston Globe)

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What listeners say about The Book of Night Women

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Rough beginning but worth it

I started and stopped for quite a few chapters. Even thought about returning it. Then- boom. I was hooked and loved it ‘till the bitter end.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A powerfully sad story...

As I listened to the story, I realized that this was so truthful, it hurt.
The lives of most slaves were so absolutely horrific, that it is truly amazing that more of them did not revolt, and that any of them were able to find any joy in their lives to get through their days.
I considered stopping the story...but I wanted to find out what happened to Lilith - our main character. Her strength, along with Homer’s, and countless others like them, show use all how truly despicable and inhumane slavery of any kind is, and what a black spot on humanity this institution was, and incomprehensibly still is in many parts of the world!
The reader is phenomenal!! She draws the listener in and leaves you no choice but to care deeply about Lilith, and feel
everything she feels and experiences. Her accent and ease with Ebonics make the story.
Thus, even though the story is very sad and horribly true, it is written and told extremely well, so I had to give the story 4 stars and the performance 5.
If you don’t mind hearing and virtually experiencing the extreme horrors of slavery, and are willing to immerse yourself in the struggles of the Slaves in Jamaica in the early 1800’s, then listen to this story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating story and brilliant performance

I can’t say enough about the reader of this book. This story about slavery on the Caribbean Islands is fascinating and well written. Robin Miles brings it all alive in a way one rarely gets a chance to hear a story on this subject told. Bravo

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome and Exciting Fiction

Would you listen to The Book of Night Women again? Why?

One day, yes. It was very entertaining.

What did you like best about this story?

The female characters.

Have you listened to any of Robin Miles’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Don't recall.

Who was the most memorable character of The Book of Night Women and why?

They were all awesome!

Any additional comments?

Read this and come into another world ...

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Narrated totally makes this story amazing!!!

I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed or even understand this story if I read the book. The narrator’s performance makes you feel the feelings, the pain of the characters. Even the ones you dislike.

Not my usual read but glad I found it. I recommend it to anyone looking for something different.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

GRIPPING!

Great story not EXACTLY what I thought based on the description... but very good! However not for the faint of heart..

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book! a must listen to

I really loved this book, the story was very well told the brutality of slavery on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. It told of how woman came together to take revenge on the slave owner.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

First of all, after listening to well over 200 audio books, I have to say this is the BEST narration I have ever, ever heard. Robin Miles is some kind of magician. She can do so many accents perfectly, it's simply amazing. The Book of Night Women will soon be a classic, required reading as Beloved is. It is an absolute must. And it a very engaging story as well. I could not stop listening. I loved it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Soul shaker of a novel, and the Performance was EXCEPTIONAL

Just finished listening to The Book of the Night Women by Marlon James. That book shook me to the very core of my being. It was a terrible tale of how evil human beings can be to one another.... especially if they see that person as other or less than. The horrors of slavery may not be happening here today (in the same form as it was in the past) but if we don't put aside perceived differences (religious, race, sexuality, or other wise) we might end up in a situation where the majority will beat, kill, rape those they see as inferior.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

AWESOME!!!

The narrator takes you into the story. You feel like you are there as things are taking place. The story is great, and the narrator is amazing. Well worth the credit.

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