Overview

* Winner of a 2017 American Book Award * Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction) * 2017 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Nominee (Fiction) ""Simply miraculous . . . As her saga becomes ever more spellbinding, so does the reader's astonishment at the magic she creates. This is a story about the triumph of the human spirit over bigotry, intolerance, and cruelty, and at the center of The Book of Harlan is the restorative force that is music."" -Washington Post The Book of Harlan opens with the courtship of Harlan's parents and his 1917 birth in Macon, Georgia. After his prominent minister grandfather dies, Harlan and his parents move to Harlem, where he eventually becomes a professional musician. When Harlan and his best friend, trumpeter Lizard Robbins, are invited to perform at a popular cabaret in the Parisian enclave of Montmartre-affectionately referred to as ""The Harlem of Paris"" by Black American musicians-Harlan jumps at the opportunity, convincing Lizard to join him. But after the City of Light falls under Nazi occupation, Harlan and Lizard are thrown into Buchenwald-the notorious concentration camp in Weimar, Germany-irreparably changing the course of Harlan's life. Based on exhaustive research and told in McFadden's mesmeric prose, The Book of Harlan skillfully blends the stories of McFadden's familial ancestors with those of real and imagined characters.

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9781636142838

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Reviews

I've finally discovered a writer I should've been reading for years! . . . McFadden has a gift for placing her characters into the vivid history swirling around them, but keeping their emotional experience front and center in the story. There's a Zora Neale Hurston sensibility to the way she does that.--Kerri Miller's Must-Read ""MPR News"" McFadden packs a powerful punch with tight prose and short chapters that bear witness to key events in early twentieth-century history: both World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Great Migration. Partly set in the Jim Crow South, the novel succeeds in showing the prevalence of racism all across the country--whether implemented through institutionalized mechanisms or otherwise. Playing with themes of divine justice and the suffering of the righteous, McFadden presents a remarkably crisp portrait of one average man's extraordinary bravery in the face of pure evil.-- ""Booklist, starred review"" McFadden shows how enduring the human spirit is, carving out pockets of happiness and fulfillment even in the most oppressive corners of a racist, pre-Civil Rights-era United States and fascist Europe . . . This is not, however, a doom-and-gloom book. McFadden also fleshes out Harlem in its golden age as a safe pocket for Black America to thrive, and the opulence, creativity, and joy she conjures is intoxicating . . . In this work of historical fiction, many more real characters make appearances . . . McFadden weaves their lives together with ancestors from her family to create something wholly elegant and hypnotic, putting a new face on World War II.-- ""Eugene Weekly"" McFadden uses the experiences of her own ancestors as loose inspiration for the life of Harlan, whom she portrays from his childhood in Harlem through imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp and his struggles afterward to put his life back together.-- ""Library Journal"" McFadden's writing breaks the heart--and then heals it again. The perspective of a Black man in a concentration camp is unique and harrowing and this is a riveting, worthwhile read.-- ""Toronto Star"" The Book of Harlan is an incredible read. Bernice McFadden . . . has created an amazing novel that speaks to lesser known aspects of the African American experience and illuminates the human heart and spirit. Her spare prose is rich in details that convey deep emotions and draw the reader in. This fictional narrative of Harlan Elliott's life is firmly grounded amidst real people and places--prime historical fiction, and the best book I have read this year.-- ""Historical Novels Review, Editors' Choice"" [A]nother one of Bernice L. McFadden's masterpieces . . . The Book of Harlan is undoubtedly one of the best books I have read this year . . . McFadden's prose lingers, giving me courage to stay committed to telling authentic stories that, while revealing of unspeakable truths, serve to unite us all.-- ""Millions"" A moving epic that follows the life of one man, Harlan Elliott, The Book of Harlan weaves real-life characters from McFadden's own life into a fictionalized story about the treatment of Black people during the Holocaust.-- ""Deep South Magazine"" The consensus from chapters across the nation was that this book was something special--an exceptional work replete with all the elements that elicited our praise. It was a page-turner that kept our attention from cover to cover. It introduced us to characters who were as real and relatable as our own family members. It contained enough drama, plot twists, foreshadowing, and symbolism to challenge readers and to intellectually engage them with the story. And, lastly, the story was so beautifully interlaced with Black history and Black historical figures that it anchored us in familiar territory. It was the kind of story in which the reader had to connect the dots and Ms. McFadden provided us with dots aplenty . . . The Book of Harlan raised the bar on historical fiction and set a new benchmark for originality and storytelling.--Go on Girl! Book Club Bernice L. McFadden took me on a melodious literary journey through time and place in her masterpiece, The Book of Harlan. It's complex, real, and raw . . . McFadden intricately and purposefully weaves history as a backdrop in her fiction. The Book of Harlan brilliantly explores questions about agency, purpose, freedom, and survival.-- ""LitHub""

The Book of Harlan is an incredible read. Bernice McFadden . . . has created an amazing novel that speaks to lesser known aspects of the African American experience and illuminates the human heart and spirit. Her spare prose is rich in details that convey deep emotions and draw the reader in. This fictional narrative of Harlan Elliott's life is firmly grounded amidst real people and places--prime historical fiction, and the best book I have read this year. -- ""Historical Novels Review, Editors' Choice"" [A]nother one of Bernice L. McFadden's masterpieces . . . The Book of Harlan is undoubtedly one of the best books I have read this year . . . McFadden's prose lingers, giving me courage to stay committed to telling authentic stories that, while revealing of unspeakable truths, serve to unite us all. -- ""Millions"" A moving epic that follows the life of one man, Harlan Elliott, The Book of Harlan weaves real- life characters from McFadden's own life into a fictionalized story about the treatment of Black people during the Holocaust. -- ""Deep South Magazine"" I've finally discovered a writer I should've been reading for years! . . . McFadden has a gift for placing her characters into the vivid history swirling around them, but keeping their emotional experience front and center in the story. There's a Zora Neale Hurston sensibility to the way she does that. --Kerri Miller's Must-Read ""MPR News"" McFadden packs a powerful punch with tight prose and short chapters that bear witness to key events in early twentieth-century history: both World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Great Migration. Partly set in the Jim Crow South, the novel succeeds in showing the prevalence of racism all across the country--whether implemented through institutionalized mechanisms or otherwise. Playing with themes of divine justice and the suffering of the righteous, McFadden presents a remarkably crisp portrait of one average man's extraordinary bravery in the face of pure evil. -- ""Booklist, starred review"" McFadden shows how enduring the human spirit is, carving out pockets of happiness and fulfillment even in the most oppressive corners of a racist, pre-Civil Rights-era United States and fascist Europe . . . This is not, however, a doom-and-gloom book. McFadden also fleshes out Harlem in its golden age as a safe pocket for Black America to thrive, and the opulence, creativity, and joy she conjures is intoxicating . . . In this work of historical fiction, many more real characters make appearances . . . McFadden weaves their lives together with ancestors from her family to create something wholly elegant and hypnotic, putting a new face on World War II. -- ""Eugene Weekly"" McFadden uses the experiences of her own ancestors as loose inspiration for the life of Harlan, whom she portrays from his childhood in Harlem through imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp and his struggles afterward to put his life back together. -- ""Library Journal"" McFadden's writing breaks the heart--and then heals it again. The perspective of a Black man in a concentration camp is unique and harrowing and this is a riveting, worthwhile read. -- ""Toronto Star"" The consensus from chapters across the nation was that this book was something special--an exceptional work replete with all the elements that elicited our praise. It was a page-turner that kept our attention from cover to cover. It introduced us to characters who were as real and relatable as our own family members. It contained enough drama, plot twists, foreshadowing, and symbolism to challenge readers and to intellectually engage them with the story. And, lastly, the story was so beautifully interlaced with Black history and Black historical figures that it anchored us in familiar territory. It was the kind of story in which the reader had to connect the dots and Ms. McFadden provided us with dots aplenty . . . The Book of Harlan raised the bar on historical fiction and set a new benchmark for originality and storytelling. --Go on Girl! Book Club Bernice L. McFadden took me on a melodious literary journey through time and place in her masterpiece, The Book of Harlan. It's complex, real, and raw . . . McFadden intricately and purposefully weaves history as a backdrop in her fiction. The Book of Harlan brilliantly explores questions about agency, purpose, freedom, and survival.-- ""LitHub""

Author Information

BERNICE L. McFADDEN is the author of eleven critically acclaimed novels including Sugar, Praise Song for the Butterflies, Loving Donovan, Nowhere Is a Place, The Warmest December, Gathering of Waters (a New York Times Editors' Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012), Glorious, and The Book of Harlan (winner of a 2017 American Book Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction). She is a four-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of four awards from the BCALA. Her latest book is her memoir Firstborn Girls.

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