Oxherding Tale
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Book Overview
From National Book Award-winning author, Charles Johnson, comes a wonderful mythic novel, part slave narrative, part comedy, part myth--first published in 1982 this phenomenally imaginative work marries Johnson's knowledge of philosophy, religion, race and history. One night in the antebellum South, a slave owner and his African American butler stay up to all hours until, too drunk to face their wives, they switch places in each other's beds. The result is a hilarious imbroglio and an offspring--Andrew Hawkins, whose life becomes Oxherding Tale. Through sexual escapades, picaresque adventures, and philosophical inquiry, Hawkins navigates white and black worlds and comments wryly on human nature along the way. Told with pure genius, Oxherding Tale is a deliciously funny, bitterly ironic account of slavery, racism, and the human spirit--and it reveals the author as a great talent with even greater humanity.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0743264495
ISBN13:9780743264495
Release Date:February 2005
Publisher:Scribner Book Company
Length:208 Pages
Weight:0.51 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 4.7" x 8.3"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
One of the Great Books
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
THis is one of the great books written in the recent past. Even if you don't have an affinity for the subject matter, the story is beautifully written, and every word appears to have been crafted. The mechanics of the writing are perfect. Read it if you ever aspire to become a writer, or read it simply for the story. You won't be disappointed.
A new approach to an old tale
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This novel moves African-American literature beyond African American, and ironically by way of it's oldest from, the slave narrative. Using his strong philosophical background in eastern religions and texts, Johnson appies Bhuddist and Taoist ideas of the self to deal with the concept of race in America. This book operates on many levels, some we've seen before in African American texts, which he uses as a backdrop for his transcendence of the slave narrrative's limitations. Incorporating these eastern influences into the novel sheds new light on the search for racial identity, and gender identity of the biracial chimera that narrates the tale. Johnson keeps the many ideas and happenings of the novel from being overbearing with a wonderful humor. The combinations of texts, and cultures make the reader reevaluate the very concept of race, and its history in America. An enlightening and very entertaining read, I highly reccommend it. (I save 5 stars for classics)
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