Picture of author.

Patrick Chamoiseau

Author of Texaco

49+ Works 1,584 Members 37 Reviews 5 Favorited

About the Author

Image credit: Patrick Chamoiseau @franceculture

Series

Works by Patrick Chamoiseau

Texaco (1997) 649 copies
Solibo Magnificent (1988) 201 copies
Slave Old Man (1997) 181 copies
School Days (1994) 100 copies
Childhood (1990) 64 copies
Creole Folktales (1995) 56 copies
Écrire en pays dominé (1997) 24 copies
L'empreinte à Crusoé (2012) 15 copies
Un dimanche au cachot (2007) 13 copies
Seven Dreams of Elmira (1998) 10 copies
La matière de l'absence (2016) 6 copies
Strange Words (1988) 5 copies
Martinique (1988) 1 copy
India (1997) 1 copy

Associated Works

Granta 59: France the Outsider (1997) — Contributor — 144 copies
Coming of Age Around the World: A Multicultural Anthology (2007) — Contributor — 24 copies
Grand Street 63: Crossing the Line (Winter 1998) (1900) — Contributor — 7 copies
The Middle Passage (2003) — Author — 4 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Members

Reviews

I enjoyed the history of Martinique, the magical realism, and the theme of language as a key to identity (original was a mix of French and Creole). But this was slow and I didn't feel compelled to return to it.
 
Flagged
mmcrawford | 11 other reviews | Dec 5, 2023 |
I'm a little obsessed with myths and folktales. So everything I say is in the context of that. If you don't like reading myths, folktales or fairy tales, then skip on down to the next book.

As far as mythology books go, this one was superb. Up there with the best I've read. Whether through the strength of the story teller (its' a little cliche, but you really do get the feeling that he's sitting

there by you telling these stories) or through the flavour of the Creole tales themselves, I don't know.… (more)
 
Flagged
WinterEgress | 4 other reviews | Dec 2, 2022 |
Like most whypipo, I knew very little about the history of Martinique. This author brings the history of this tiny island to life. Starting in the 1700s, when bekes (white) owned humans kidnapped, or born, into slavery, and forced them with overseer whips to work in their Fields, their houses, make babies with them, through the 1800s, when Abolition created a false freedom, to the fight for keeping their tiny hutches in their shantytowns, Chamoiseau shares the word of the Storyteller, who stood in front and took blow after blow for the right to exist.… (more)
 
Flagged
burritapal | 11 other reviews | Oct 23, 2022 |
Not even gonna pretend: there’s a ton in this book that I just did not understand despite my best efforts. “Slave Old Man” is incredibly dense despite being only 176 pages. It’s categorized as Literary Fiction but I’d argue this counts as Poetry. The prose is beautiful but can feel hectic and inaccessible. Translated from the French Creole, “Slave Old Man” is about a slave who “maroons” from the sugar plantation and escapes into the thick of the jungle, doggedly tracked and pursued by the master’s dog. It took me nearly a month to get through this book and it’s one I expect to revisit again and again.… (more)
 
Flagged
MC_Rolon | 6 other reviews | Jun 15, 2022 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
49
Also by
7
Members
1,584
Popularity
#16,286
Rating
3.9
Reviews
37
ISBNs
139
Languages
11
Favorited
5

Charts & Graphs