The Conjure Woman

Charles W. Chesnutt

Publisher: DigiCat

Summary

Charles W. Chesnutt's 'The Conjure Woman' is a seminal work that artfully interweaves African American folklore with the stark realities of postbellum Southern life. This collection of loosely connected stories is told through the eyes of an educated Northern black man who turns to the titular conjure woman for insight into the region's mystique. Narrated with poignant irony and embodying the keen observation of social dynamics, Chesnutt's prose delivers both a literary and cultural critique. This work not only fits snugly within the tradition of Southern Gothic literature but also lays the groundwork for subsequent explorations of African American identity and history in the literary context.

Chesnutt himself was a pioneering figure in American literature, being of mixed-race heritage and often confronting the complexities of racial identity and the color line in his work. His life and experiences deeply informed his fiction, and 'The Conjure Woman' is no exception. The stories serve as a direct reflection on the societal structures he navigated and subtly resisted. Chesnutt's role as an educator and reformer is mirrored in his careful crafting of characters who stride the boundaries of the racially segregated world in which they are entrapped.

'The Conjure Woman' is a book that demands attention from those interested in the history and literature of African American culture. Its blend of folklore and subtle social commentary makes it particularly valuable for scholars, students, and lovers of classic literature. Moreover, Chesnutt's work resonates with universal themes of identity, tradition, and resistance, ensuring its relevance and power for contemporary audiences questioning the constructs of race and society.

Available since: 09/16/2022.

Print length: 125 pages.

Contemporary Fiction

Other books that might interest you

Hogg

Samuel R. Delany

The narrator of Hogg is a Huck Finn–like youngster caught in society’s most sinister seams—but unlike Huck, he passes no moral judgments on the violence he takes part in . . .Hogg is the story of a man—a depraved trucker named Franklin Hargus, whom the people he works for call Hogg—and of the nameless boy who tells the story of three days of unspeakable sexual violence and devastation, which, together, they initiate in a small seaside American city in the middle of the last century. Hogg is a towering brute who makes his living as a rapist for hire. By the end of a series of vicious attacks, kidnappings, and mass murders, the reader will wonder who is more corrupt: the man or the boy.   Samuel R. Delany completed his first draft of Hogg within a day, if not within hours, of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City and revised it over the next four years, though it was not released until 1995.

Show book

Shared by the Alphas - A...

Scarlett Blackwood

It was supposed to be the best night of her life.

Selene Carter was ready for Prom but her supposed prince charming had abandoned her the second the bond with his true mate clicked into place. Now, she was nothing more than a forgotten shadow, surrounded by laughter and love she can't relate. She stood alone at the edge of the ballroom, humiliation sinking into her like ice-cold steel.

She didn’t belong here.

Until they walked in.

Kieran. Lucian. Jaxon.

The Triplet Alphas ruthless, untouchable, dangerous. They should’ve ignored her. She was nothing to them, a nobody. But the moment their eyes landed on her, everything changed.

A kiss under the mistletoe.

One touch. One kiss. And the world shattered.

She was supposed to be invisible. But now, they saw her. And they claimed her.

They took her innocence, stripped away the control she held over her own body, and reveled in the way she trembled beneath them. Their dominance was unrelenting. And they weren’t finished.

They wanted more.

They were obsessed with her sweetness, her purity her innocence.

But she doesn’t belong in their world. She’s not the kind of woman they should want. Yet, as the Blood Moon rises, and as dark secrets about her own hidden power unfold, Selene finds herself torn between the man-made world she’s always known and the dangerous, intoxicating world of the Triplet Alphas. A power that binds her to them in ways she never imagined.

And Selene? She’ll have to choose. The life she’s always known or the Alphas who’ll never let her go.

This stand-alone reverse harem romance is filled with raw passion, danger, and scorching MFMM scenes. HEA is

guaranteed but at what cost?

Show book