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American Histories by John Edgar Wideman
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American Histories (edition 2018)

by John Edgar Wideman (Author)

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701376,339 (2.75)6
Fiction. African American Fiction. Short Stories. Historical Fiction. HTML:

In this singular collection, John Edgar Wideman, the acclaimed author of Writing to Save a Life, blends the personal, historical, and political to invent complex, charged stories about love, death, struggle, and what we owe each other. With characters ranging from everyday Americans to Jean-Michel Basquiat to Nat Turner, American Histories is a journey through time, experience, and the soul of our country.

"JB & FD" reimagines conversations between John Brown, the antislavery crusader who famously raided Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist and orator, conversations that belie the myth of race and produce a fantastical, ethically rich correspondence that spans years and ideologies.

"Maps and Ledgers" eavesdrops on a brother and sister today as they ponder their father's killing of another man.

"Williamsburg Bridge" sits inside a man sitting on a bridge who contemplates his life before he decides to jump.

"My Dead" is a story about how the already-departed demand more time, more space in the lives of those who survive them.

Navigating an extraordinary range of subject and tone, Wideman challenges the boundaries of traditional forms, and delivers unforgettable, immersive narratives that touch the very core of what it means to be alive. An extended meditation on family, history, and loss, American Histories weaves together historical fact, philosophical wisdom, and deeply personal vignettes. More than the sum of its parts, this is Wideman at his bestâ??emotionally precise and intellectually stimulatingâ??an extraordinary collection by a master… (more)

Member:AfricanaCenter
Title:American Histories
Authors:John Edgar Wideman (Author)
Info:Scribner (2018), 240 pages
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American Histories by John Edgar Wideman (Author)

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the good: wideman utilises metafiction with a brutal efficacy, particularly in "JB & FD", "Writing Teacher" and "Williamsburg Bridge". these are the few that i think live up to the promise expressed in the title of exploring american history through a mix of fiction and reality (though in the latter two, the reality is not history but wideman's own life - or near enough that i can believe that it is his life). i think what these stories have to say about the ethics of fiction- of using another person's life for your own profit - will stick with me.
the bad: basically the rest of the book. while the three stories i mentioned are good enough that i think the whole collection was worth it for me to read to find these, i wouldn't recommend the entire collection. i think the thing that stuck out to me the most was the epistemology of the texts - i always felt at an unintentional disadvantage with the author which ruined my enjoyment of the story. wideman is not very good at communicating what he already knows to the reader; even in "Collage", which has a style seemingly predicated on the removal of the epistemological divide between author/story and reader, i felt lost. and i did wikipedia who john brown, frederick douglass and nat turner were before reading their respective stories (they're unheard of in the uk; given that i had a uk edition, i sort of wish that the publisher had done something to address this).

sidenote: there's a pretty decent amount of reference to film in the book, which i found interesting having just come off [b:Black Movie|26158735|Black Movie|Danez Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440440584s/26158735.jpg|46116306], which also explored the intersection between race and film. i thought it was better done in black movie though . ( )
  livingtoast | Jan 23, 2019 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Wideman, John EdgarAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Richard-Mas,Catherin…Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Je ne sais pourquoi ce double calcul chronologique retient mon attention et pourquoi je me sens obligé de le signaler : le temps personnel et l'objectif, le temps où se meut le narrateur et celui où se déroule la narration. Il y a là un très singulier croisement des époques, d'ailleurs destiné à se recouper avec une troisième période, où le lecteur voudra bien accueillir ma relation, de telle sorte qu'elle se rattache à un triple registre de temps : le sien propre, celui du chroniqueur et le temps historique.
Thomas Mann,
Le Docteur Faustus


1. Traduit de l'allemand par Louise Servicen © Éditions Albin Michel,
1950, 1996.
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Monsieur le président,
Je vous adresse la présente note accompagnée de quelques
nouvelles de ma composition, en espérant que vous trouverez,
dans vos obligations quotidiennes, le temps de lire le tout. L[...]
JB & FD

1

Avoir besoin de ses lunettes et se rendre soudain compte qu'elles ne sont pas sous la main, situation assez banale pour Frederick Douglass, si ce n'est qu'elle s'accompagne parfois d'une flambée d'extraordinaire appréhension. [...]
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Fiction. African American Fiction. Short Stories. Historical Fiction. HTML:

In this singular collection, John Edgar Wideman, the acclaimed author of Writing to Save a Life, blends the personal, historical, and political to invent complex, charged stories about love, death, struggle, and what we owe each other. With characters ranging from everyday Americans to Jean-Michel Basquiat to Nat Turner, American Histories is a journey through time, experience, and the soul of our country.

"JB & FD" reimagines conversations between John Brown, the antislavery crusader who famously raided Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist and orator, conversations that belie the myth of race and produce a fantastical, ethically rich correspondence that spans years and ideologies.

"Maps and Ledgers" eavesdrops on a brother and sister today as they ponder their father's killing of another man.

"Williamsburg Bridge" sits inside a man sitting on a bridge who contemplates his life before he decides to jump.

"My Dead" is a story about how the already-departed demand more time, more space in the lives of those who survive them.

Navigating an extraordinary range of subject and tone, Wideman challenges the boundaries of traditional forms, and delivers unforgettable, immersive narratives that touch the very core of what it means to be alive. An extended meditation on family, history, and loss, American Histories weaves together historical fact, philosophical wisdom, and deeply personal vignettes. More than the sum of its parts, this is Wideman at his bestâ??emotionally precise and intellectually stimulatingâ??an extraordinary collection by a master

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