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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. Time touches all things with destroying hand; and if he seem now and then to bestow the bloom of youth, the sap of spring, it is but a brief mockery, to be surely and swiftly followed by the wrinkles of old age, the dry leaves and bare branches of winter. And yet there are places where Time seems to linger lovingly long after youth has departed, and to which he seems loath to bring the evil day. Who has not known some ... Read more

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Explores the lives and fates of two young African-Americans who decide to pass for white in order to claim their share of the American dream. By the author of "The Marrow of Tradition". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Important in context, possibly, but not a very good book today
It's possible that I'm missing something, but I didn't find this book engaging or enjoyable. (I'm told that _The Marrow Of Tradition_, also by Chesnutt, is much better.) Chesnutt does do a good job of exaggerating and parodying the tropes of late 1800s sentimental fiction, but the contemporary reader is likely to find these a bit hackneyed. Few if any of the characters are sympathetic, the action seems forced, and the ending is disappointing both literally and thematically. That said, it's unclear that Chesnutt could have ended the book any other way, and there are some subtle details that push against the prevailing mores of the time. Watch especially the conversation between John and Judge Straight, and the comparative lack of retribution for John's life choices as compared to Rena's.

If you're interested in late 1800s stories of race passing by African-American authors that provide a heavy-handed moral, try Frances Harper or Pauline Hopkins (or the other Chesnutt mentioned above, though I haven't read it myself) --- if you want to see this exact same plot arc done so much better (and with the same moral!) in 1850, read Frank J. Webb's _The Garies And Their Friends._

There are plenty of scholarly reasons to read this book, but if you don't have one and are looking for entertainment or personal enlightenment, I'd point you away from this book and toward _The Garies_.

Worth reading for historical insight
If published today, I would have given this book 3 stars because of the amount of contrivance it contains. But considering that it was first published in 1900, it must be given higher esteem. Historically, the study it provides of being biracial (considered Black then) and able to pass as white in the Carolinas 100 years ago is invaluable to the African American literary canon. The dilemmas faced by this ability are brilliantly portrayed in this book. I was fascinated with the dilemmas whites and "dark-skinned" blacks faced socially when dealing with the Rena and her brother. I especially enjoyed the conversation between her brother John and the town lawyer when John asks him to teach him to become a lawyer - I thought that was the most brilliantly written passage in the book.

Despite the contrivances and that it takes a bit to get into the writer's style, this was a compelling read. Though not especially likeable, the characters are interesting, complex and well-drawn.

I recommend this to anyone interested in the racial history of the South after abolition.

Incredibly engaging
I had to read this book for a Senior Seminar in English and was surprised to find that it was an entertaining read. Granted, one must suspend disbelief in a few places in order to allow for coincidences but what Chesnutt does is something of a pastiche of different writing genres. He also goes to the very limits in portraying the many gradations that existed in the Southern color line.
In truth, most of the characters are not necessarily likeable, but one cannot help turning the pages to see who will do what next. Those who chanced to pass for white were never far from an intrigue of some kind.
This is a fast read as well as an entertaining one, and while Chesnutt plays with many different styles and humors, it is not without historical merit.

Important writer, but never quite reaches mastery
I am writing a final paper on this book at the moment.Chestnutt is an important writer, but not one of the best of the period.I don't think he ever got the chance to fully mature as a writer.This book leaves me witha lot of what-ifs and whys.For example, he introduces a nephew to theheroine who appears as though he will be important, but simply drops out ofthe picture. The book leaves me wondering what he meant to do, and didn'thave time for. It is a good read, but rather frustrating.

If you onlyhave time to read one African American classic, I would turn you instead toZora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Are Watching God" which is trulyamazing! ... Read more

Product Description
Unlike the popular "Uncle Remus" stories of Joel Chandler Harris, Charles W. Chesnutt's tales probe psychological depths in black people unheard of before in Southern regional writing. They also expose the anguish of mixed-race men and women and the consequences of racial hatred, mob violence, and moral compromise.

This important collection contains all the stories in his two published volumes, The Conjure Woman and The Wife of His Youth, along with two uncollected works: the tragic "Dave's Neckliss" and "Baxter's Procustes," Chesnutt's parting shot at prejudice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

African-American folktales
Another class-forced foray into American literature, which is not my usual territory. This is a really interesting book by an almost more interesting author, that raises really great questions about American race issues, what knowledge is, what can be considered truth, and what it means to believe in folktales.

"General Books LLC" is a Misleading Scam, not a proper publisher.
N.B.: The 1-star applies to this edition, not to "The Conjure Woman," which is one of the best books to have emerged from the 1890s. And if I could give 0 stars to General Books LLC editions, or negative stars, I would.

Buyer beware: All "books" published by General Books LLC are not really "books" at all. They are automatically (and very badly) produced via OCR software from digital scans of old public domain editions. On nearly every page you will find egregious, ridiculous misprints, and flat-out gibberish, with the result that the "book" is unreadable. (That's why when you click the "Look Inside" feature above, you'll actually be redirected to a "real" edition of the book. General Books LLC doesn't want you to see their product until you buy it, because they know that if you see it, you won't buy it.) In fact, as General Books LLC all but admits, the things they sell here on Amazon are actually marketing devices designed to induce the unwary to subscribe to a service they do not need. Charging [...] for this thing is a scandal.

Read closely the disclaimer that General Books LLC adds to the page for this so-called edition: "The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: African Americans; Southern States; American fiction/ Afro-American authors; Short stories; African Americans Southern States Fiction; Fiction / Literary; Fiction / General; Literary Criticism / American / General; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies; Fiction / Action."

"Without charge" is misleading, to put it mildly. Open the front cover of a book produced by General Books LLC and you will find yet another disclaimer: "Could you please forgive any spelling mistakes, missing or extraneous characters...?" Then you are directed to the company's web-site, which asks for your credit card or PayPal information to begin, at the rate of [...] per month, a "subscription" to books that are freely available in the public domain. Which means you can get them for free at web-sites like Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and Google Books.

For example, drop this URL into your browser and you will be taken to a freely downloadable copy of the first edition of "The Conjure Woman" (1899):

[...]

Incidentally, I know all this because my university accidentally ordered this ridiculous product instead of the scholarly edition I had specified for use in my classes (I am a professor of American literature).

Amazon, in my opinion, should not allow companies like this one to sell their products.

A wonderful story and an important work of literature
Charles Chestnutt's A Conjure Woman is a collection of short stories told by a former slave named Julius to a White couple who have recently moved to the South.Written at the turn of the century, Chestnutt was addressing a primarily White audience who were recovering from Reconstruction and werefond of plantation-style literature which looked upon slavery withnostalgia.On the surface, the author seems to be catering to thenostalgic pre-Civil War idea, but in actuality, Julius' stories have a muchdeeper moral which reveal a harsh and terrible way of life for Blacks ofthe time.Mixed with elements of magic and conjuring, Julius' seems to betelling fanciful fairy tales, but with a closer look, one realizes thatChestnutt has no fondness or nostalgia for the times of slavery.This is awell-written and thought-provoking book and it is an important novel ofAmerica's history. ... Read more

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Frederick Douglass. please visit www.valdebooks.com for a full list of titles ... Read more

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The Marrow of Tradition. please visit www.valdebooks.com for a full list of titles ... Read more

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Discusses the life and writings of the early twentieth-century black author whose novels examine the Afro-American experience. ... Read more

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Credited with almost single-handedly pioneering a genuine African-American literary tradition in the short story, Chesnutt has influenced writers such as James Weldon Johnson and Charles Johnson. This collections contains all the stories in Chesnutt's two published volumes, The Conjure Woman and The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line, along with two uncollected works. Original. ... Read more