The Good Lord Bird (National Book Award Winner)

A Novel

By: James McBride

Narrated by: Michael Boatman

Now a Showtime limited series starring Ethan Hawke and Daveed Diggs

Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction

From the bestselling author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, Deacon King Kong (an Oprah Book Club pick) and The Color of Water comes the story of a young boy born a slave who joins John Brown’s antislavery crusade—and who must pass as a girl to survive.

Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856--a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces--when legendary abolitionist John Brown arrives. When an argument between Brown and Henry's master turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town--along with Brown, who believes Henry to be a girl and his good luck charm.

Over the ensuing months, Henry, whom Brown nicknames Little Onion, conceals his true identity to stay alive. Eventually Brown sweeps him into the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859--one of the great catalysts for the Civil War. An absorbing mixture of history and imagination, and told with McBride's meticulous eye for detail and character, The Good Lord Bird is both a rousing adventure and a moving exploration of identity and survival.

Critic reviews

Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction

Winner of the Morning News Tournament of Books

"A brilliant romp of a novel…McBride…pulls off his portrait masterfully, like a modern-day Mark Twain." —The New York Times Book Review

"You may know the story of John Brown's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry, but author James McBride's retelling of the events leading up to it is so imaginative, you'll race to the finish." —NPR

"A boisterous, highly entertaining, altogether original novel ...There is something deeply humane in this [story], something akin to the work of Homer or Mark Twain.” —The Washington Post

“Wildly entertaining… a rollicking saga about one of America’s earliest abolitionists.” —People

"McBride delivers another tour de force...A fascinating mix of history and mystery." —Essence

"A story that's difficult to put down." —Ebony

“Outrageously entertaining… rockets toward its inevitable and, yes, knee-slapping conclusion. Never has mayhem been this much of a humdinger.” —USA Today

“An impressively deep comedy.”—Salon “Both breezy and sharp, a rare combination outside of Twain. You should absolutely read it.” —New York Magazine

"Superbly written....McBride...transcends history and makes it come alive." —The Chicago Tribune

"Absorbing and darkly funny." —San Francisco Chronicle

"An irrepressibly fun read." —The Seattle Times

"The Good Lord Bird is just so brilliant. It had everything I want in a novel and left me feeling both transported and transformed." —John Green

"[McBride's] effervescent young narrator is pitch-perfect and wholly original." —Geraldine Brooks

An Interesting Re-Telling of a Little Known Man

This is a quaint historical novel about the abolitionist John Brown, who's deeds and follies set the stage for the American Civil War. At first, I had a hard time listening to the chortling of "The Onion" a 10 to 12 year-old boy who was put into a dress and apparently lived as a woman for 17 years. After a couple of hours, I got into the voice...and the book is quite hysterical in some areas. I had to look it up to see if John Roberts was a real person or not, just because his escapades seemed so unrealistic. But, John Roberts did live, although I doubt the boy/girl nicknamed "The Onion" is a real person. But Onion is the perfect vehicle for telling this story. He is a child whom everyone treats as a girl, and for that reason, he could get into places and do things that a boy could not have been able to.

I enjoyed this book because it was funny and the voice actor was really quite good...after I got used to the sound of his voice. Audible makes a mistake when reading the introduction, because you think it is going to sound like that the whole way though. They have done that with other books that I did not appreciate.

Through the eyes of The Onion (so nicknamed because John Roberts hands the kid this rotten/petrified onion he kept as a good luck charm, but The Onion doesn't understand why he has been given this hideous rotten piece of crap masquerading as an onion, so he eats it. Then John Roberts always protects him, proclaiming that "She's my lucky charm" (I guess because s/he ate the onion instead of putting it in his/her pocket).

There are lots of funny scenes where the kid's true identity is almost unmasked, but while reading the bible on evening on a porch in Virginia, the boy realizes that a body, male or female, black or white is simply a shell and who one is inside and the outer shell doesn't make a bit of difference. I was touched by that, and it is true, IMO.

I don't like to reveal much of a book's plot points or the way it ends....but I found it very enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone who likes a farcical historical novel. I read about it on the NPR's website and went straight to Audible and bought it and I'm glad I did. It is witty, not too gory and I quite enjoyed it. It's a bit like Tom Robbins meets Edward P. Jones to write about a part of American Slavery and one man's feverish desire (driven by the Lord!) to bring an end to slavery. Oh...and we get to meet Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman in a way that we have never met them before.

All and all, a very enjoyable read. I can see it as a movie...maybe directed by the Cohen Brothers....who would be perfect for the tone of the book.

Best book. Best adventure!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Good Lord Bird to be better than the print version?

I wouldn't know, but I liked the narrator for the audio edition.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Onion is the best character. Next best is Old John Brown. All in all I loved every character in the book.

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

Excitement of the journey. He opens up the comedy of the story. I was actually depressed when I started reading it, and I found myself laughing out loud at the stuff Onion and the Old Man got themselves into.

Who was the most memorable character of The Good Lord Bird and why?

John Brown, then Onion the unwilling transgender character.

Any additional comments?

Good story and funny, funny and funny!

Cinematic, hilarious and full with the stuffings of life. Snaking of a Twain meets Little big man gallows humor and not devoidJ.

Cinematic, hilarious and full with the stuffings of life. Snaking between Twains wit and Little big mans gallows humor, and not devoid of an ample heart. J.

One of the best audibles I heard.

I loved it, the narrator gave so much life to the story making it a joy to listen too.

Great story! Great narrator!

James Mcbride never disappoints. His wonderful story had me hooked from the start and Michael Boatman made the characters come alive! I will probably listen to again, just as I did with Deacon King Kong.