The Book of Night Women

By: Marlon James

Narrated by: Robin Miles

From the author of the National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf and the WINNER of the 2015 Man Booker Prize for A Brief History of Seven Killings

"An undeniable success.” — The New York Times Book Review

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 eighteenth 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

Sad

I enjoyed the book. Narrator great. The story line is about slavery. Don't expect it to end well.

Fantastic, Bravo

The characters seemed so real. The visually speaking I could see the slave plantion, Lilth being born, the story unfolding which made me to want to know more.

Women's unbridled will, and resilience

A sensitive, and masterfully written narrative, weaving a symbolic, allegorical, and historic journey. Taking the reader into the lives of great women who had no voice, but their shear will to live, innate wisdom, deeply profound love, and the demons they fought daily. Broken and battered, stripped, and robbed of their dignity, and any and everything they loved or cared about. They resurrect, and transform themselves to reclaim their strength, dignity, their will to live, and their stolen and lost love. The evolution from slave to rebellious worriers, that drives them forward through pain, and hardship woven together creating, an intricate quilt of wonder and to personal triumphant.

AWESOME Narrator, Heartbreaking Story

I cannot adequately convey my admiration of the talent of the narrator. The beyond difficult Jamaican inflections were flawless, and she switched to the different characters effortlessly. Even though it is a hard story to listen to, it is history. I feel these happenings should be known by everyone to put current events into perspective. Warning! A must read...

Complicated Denouement

The writing is stellar and the pacing seems bewitched; the reader is never left bored or stranded. But the "resolution" left me frustrated and puzzled. I wasn't sure what the author really wanted his story to convey. As for the narration, honestly Robin Miles deserves all the awards. This book is not for the fainthearted.