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Title details for The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke - Available

The Polished Hoe

by Austin Clarke
Robin Miles
Audiobook
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Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada • Commonwealth Writers Prize, Caribbean and Canada

When Mary-Mathilda, one of the most respected women of the island of Bimshire (also known as Barbados) calls the police to confess to a crime, the result is a shattering all-night vigil that brings together elements of the island's African past and the tragic legacy of colonialism in one epic sweep.

Set in the West Indies in the period following World War II, The Polished Hoe—an Essence bestseller and a Washington Post Book World Most Worthy Book of 2003—unravels over the course of twenty-four hours but spans the collective experience of a society characterized by slavery.

"The beauty of the novel ... lies in the poetry of its telling and the marvelous voice of Mary-Mathilda ... a marvelous creation. It bubbles with the voices of a now-vast literature of the African diaspora."—Washington Post Book World

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    September 16, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781456111199
      • File size: 543670 KB
      • Duration: 18:52:38

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      There's been a tragedy. As 60-year-old Mary-Mathilda gives her statement to Sergeant Percy, her memories reveal a harrowing portrait of plantation life on a fictional Caribbean island in the 1950s. Mary-Mathilda weaves island history with a tale of racism, de-facto slavery, and lifelong abuse at the hands of Manager Bellfeels, who took her as his "outside-woman" at the age of 13. For 38 years, she remained at his mercy, including bearing his children. Canadian writer Austin Clarke's sultry, languid prose seduces; Mary-Mathilda's rambling, circular remembrances mesmerize; and Robin Miles's liquid sugar-cane voice beguiles, enchants, and sticks you fast to this beautifully imagined story. THE POLISHED HOE won the Commonwealth Writers Prize, and Miles deserves a prize for this performance. From island patois to standard broadcast speech, she enhances every word, every emotion, every richly remembered detail. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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