the autobiography of my mother jamaica kincaid

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The Autobiography of My Mother

FSG Classics

Author: Jamaica Kincaid

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From the recipient of the 2010 Clifton Fadiman Medal, an unforgettable novel of one woman's courageous coming-of-age Jamaica Kincaid's The Autobiography...

Book Details

From the recipient of the 2010 Clifton Fadiman Medal, an unforgettable novel of one woman's courageous coming-of-age Jamaica Kincaid's The Autobiography of My Mother is a story of love, fear, loss, and the forging of character, an account of one woman's inexorable evolution, evoked in startling and magical poetry. Powerful, disturbing, stirring, Jamaica Kincaid's novel is the deeply charged story of a woman's life on the island of Dominica. Xuela Claudette Richardson, the daughter of a Carib mother and a half-Scottish, half-African father, loses her mother to death the moment she is born and must find her way on her own. Kincaid takes us from Xuela's childhood in a home where she can hear the song of the sea to the tin-roofed room where she lives as a schoolgirl in the house of Jack LaBatte, who becomes her first lover. Xuela develops a passion for the stevedore Roland, who steals bolts of Irish linen for her from the ships he unloads, but she eventually marries an English doctor, Philip Bailey. Xuela's is an intensely physical world, redolent of overripe fruit, gentian violet, sulfur, and rain on the road, and it seethes with her sorrow, her deep sympathy for those who share her history, her fear of her father, her desperate loneliness. But underlying all is "the black room of the world" that is Xuela's barrenness and motherlessness.

Imprint Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

9780374531874

In The News

“Fierce, incantory . . . lyrical . . . powerful and disturbing.” —Michiko Kakutani, New York Times “Kincaid, always an elegant stylist, makes this story of a simple woman extraordinary . . . filling her prose with rich, poetic detail . . . An unforgettable account of singular survival.” — San Francisco Chronicle Book Review “A book that comes both to haunt and to dazzle us . . . [Kincaid] writes like an angel: with enviable lucidity and precision and a lyric touch that frequently aspires to the condition of poetry.” — Boston Sunday Globe

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• Literature & Fiction
• Genre Fiction

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The Autobiography of My Mother Paperback – May 7 2013

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Kincaid takes us from Xuela's childhood in a home where she can hear the song of the sea to the tin-roofed room where she lives as a schoolgirl in the house of Jack LaBatte, who becomes her first lover. Xuela develops a passion for the stevedore Roland, who steals bolts of Irish linen for her from the ships he unloads, but she eventually marries an English doctor, Philip Bailey. Xuela's is an intensely physical world, redolent of overripe fruit, gentian violet, sulfur, and rain on the road, and it seethes with her sorrow, her deep sympathy for those who share her history, her fear of her father, her desperate loneliness. But underlying all is "the black room of the world" that is Xuela's barrenness and motherlessness.

• Print length 240 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Publication date May 7 2013
• Dimensions 13.97 x 1.65 x 20.7 cm
• ISBN-10 0374531870
• ISBN-13 978-0374531874
• Lexile measure 1160L
• See all details

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"A book that comes both to haunt and to dazzle us . . . [Kincaid] writes like an angel: with enviable lucidity and precision and a lyric touch that frequently aspires to the condition of poetry." -- Boston Sunday Globe

About the Author

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Reprint edition (May 7 2013)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374531870
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374531874
• Item weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 kg
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 1.65 x 20.7 cm
• #7,449 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
• #42,755 in Literary Fiction (Books)

About the author

Jamaica kincaid.

Jamaica Kincaid's works include, Mr Potter, The Autobiography of My Mother, and My Brother, a memoir. She lives in Bennington, Vermont.

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9780374531874

Jamaica Kincaid

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

15 January 1996

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From the recipient of the 2010 Clifton Fadiman Medal, an unforgettable novel of one woman's courageous coming-of-age Jamaica Kincaid's The Autobiography of My Mother is a story of love, fear, loss, and the forging of a character, an account of one woman's inexorable evolution evoked in startling and magical poetry. Powerful, disturbing, stirring, Jamaica Kincaid's novel is the deeply charged story of a woman's life on the island of Dominica. Xuela Claudette Richardson, daughter of a Carib mother and a half-Scottish, half-African father, loses her mother to death the moment she is born and must find her way on her own. Kincaid takes us from Xuela's childhood in a home where she could hear the song of the sea to the tin-roofed room where she lives as a schoolgirl in the house of Jack Labatte, who becomes her first lover. Xuela develops a passion for the stevedore Roland, who steals bolts of Irish linen for her from the ships he unloads, but she eventually marries an English doctor, Philip Bailey. Xuela's is an intensely physical world, redolent of overripe fruit, gentian violet, sulfur, and rain on the road, and it seethes with her sorrow, her deep sympathy for those who share her history, her fear of her father, her desperate loneliness. But underlying all is "the black room of the world" that is Xuela's barrenness and motherlessness.

•   Authors & Illustrators
•   Jamaica Kincaid
•   The Autobiography of My Mother

The Autobiography of My Mother

Jamaica kincaid.

Fierce, incantory. . . lyrical. . . powerful and disturbing Michiko Kakutani , New York Times

Kincaid, always an elegant stylist, makes this story of a simple woman extraordinary...filling her prose with rich, poetic detail. . . An unforgettable account of singular survival San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

A book that comes both to haunt and to dazzle us . . . [Kincaid] writes like an angel: with enviable lucidity and precision and a lyric touch that frequently aspires to the condition of poetry Boston Sunday Globe

What a writer – elegant, uncompromising, simultaneously direct and layered and complex. Ali Smith

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The Autobiography of My Mother

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1996

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The Autobiography of My Mother (Galley) Paperback – January 1, 1996

• Print length 240 pages
• Language English
• Publisher New York, Farrar Strauss Giroux
• Publication date January 1, 1996
• Dimensions 5.31 x 0.63 x 8.5 inches
• ISBN-10 0099738414
• ISBN-13 978-0099738411
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ New York, Farrar Strauss Giroux (January 1, 1996)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0099738414
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099738411
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.63 x 8.5 inches

About the author

Jamaica kincaid.

Jamaica Kincaid's works include, Mr Potter, The Autobiography of My Mother, and My Brother, a memoir. She lives in Bennington, Vermont.

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 50% 18% 15% 10% 6% 50%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 50% 18% 15% 10% 6% 18%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 50% 18% 15% 10% 6% 15%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 50% 18% 15% 10% 6% 10%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 50% 18% 15% 10% 6% 6%

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Customers say

Customers find the book great, interesting, and beautiful. They also find the subject matter interesting and full of human nature. However, some find the story boring, dull, and hopeless. Opinions are mixed on the writing style, with some finding it interesting and rich, while others find it hard to read and wordy.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the book great, interesting, and beautiful. They say it's worth their time and a great choice.

"...sufficed to say, this book is worth your time ." Read more

"...rivers of blue-glinting water, and in the beauty of this- and it is beautiful , they cannot help but find it beautiful - they invisibly, magically,..." Read more

" Great novel !..." Read more

"...OH WELL. The title grips hold of me every-time (I love you mom). Great read . One of the better novels out there." Read more

Customers find the book insightful, interesting, and mesmerizing. They say the subject matter is full of human nature and ring true.

"...She explained that the book is hard to grasp at first but immensely interesting , it addresses themes of loss and becoming a woman in a complex yet..." Read more

"Autobiography of My Mother is a powerful, mesmerizing , and other-worldy tale of Xuela, a woman of Dominica, West Indies, who is a worthy subject for..." Read more

"...The story is a very (and I mean very) dark tale. There are some pivotal insights , but my feeling is that it is one long brooding about the way her..." Read more

"... Very insightful in places , a bit tedious in others, but still a worthwile read for the message it contains." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book. Some mention it's interesting, rich, and poetic. Others say it'll be hard to read at some points and clouded with unnecessary words.

"...This is a rich text that can withstand multiple readings, because you find something new every time. I came to this novel after reading...." Read more

"In rich and poetic prose , Kincaid powerfully describes the life story of Xuela, a woman with an alienated and barren soul, who cannot love and does..." Read more

"...She explained that the book is hard to grasp at first but immensely interesting, it addresses themes of loss and becoming a woman in a complex yet..." Read more

" Beautifully constructed prose and uber creative in her descriptions. But 3/4 through the book it all becomes too much and clouds the storyline." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the storyline. Some find it surprising, mesmerizing, and other-worldy. However, others say it's hard to follow, repetitive, and clouds the story.

"... This book is haunting . This is not one of those books that you forget about as soon as you've finished reading the last page...." Read more

"...But 3/4 through the book it all becomes too much and clouds the storyline ." Read more

"Autobiography of My Mother is a powerful, mesmerizing, and other-worldy tale of Xuela, a woman of Dominica, West Indies, who is a worthy subject for..." Read more

"...Very insightful in places, a bit tedious in others , but still a worthwile read for the message it contains." Read more

Customers find the book boring, a waste of time, and money. They say the writing is beautiful, but the characters are likable and hopeless.

"Poor writing style. Waste of money ...." Read more

"...It was an interesting story....but very hopeless and sad." Read more

"...narrator, to just about every other character in this novel are so unlikeable that it was difficult to enjoy this." Read more

"...I read a lot of books, but this one was a waste of time and money " Read more

Customers find the character development boring and say they don't care about the narrator.

"...Instead, I found myself not caring about the narrator whatsoever . She repeats the same few thoughts throughout the entire book...." Read more

"...It was very repetitive. The characters were extremely shallow in my view, without reason...." Read more

"it's boring. Character seems lost . Not someone that knows what she want or what she wants her destiny to be." Read more

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