About the Author

A former vice-president at Sun Microsystems, Lalita Tademy left the corporate world to immerse herself in tracing her family's past and in writing.

Reviews

"A long-overdue response to Alex Haley's Roots."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Astonishing... bold, breathtaking, and unforgettable."--Essence

"Evocative and convincing."--The Washington Post Book World

"Extraordinary... illuminates the soul of heritage... historical fiction of the highest order."--Philadelphia Enquirer

Like the river of its title, Tademy's saga of strong-willed black women flows from one generation to the next, from slavery to freedom. Elisabeth is a slave on a Creole plantation, as is her daughter, Suzette. The family, based on Tademy's own ancestors, wins freedom after the Civil War, but Suzette's daughter, Philomene, must struggle to keep her family together and to achieve financial independence. The melodious, expressive voices of narrators Belafonte and Payton are a pleasure to listen to, while Moore's tougher, grittier tone conveys the hardships faced by the family. However, Belafonte and Payton sometimes ignore vocal directions provided by the novel. For example, Payton reads one passage in a whisper even though the text says "in her excitement, Philomene's voice rose... louder and louder." The complex, multigenerational tale suffers somewhat in abridgment: at times the narrative too abruptly jumps ahead by decades and some emotional situations are given short shrift, as when Philomene discovers that her daughter Bette, whom she was told died as a baby nearly 20 years earlier, is actually alive and living nearby. Still, the audio succeeds in evoking the struggles of black women to provide better lives for their children despite all odds. Simultaneous release with the Warner hardcover (Forecasts, Mar. 12). (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

"A long-overdue response to Alex Haley's Roots."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Astonishing... bold, breathtaking, and unforgettable."--Essence
"Evocative and convincing."--The Washington Post Book World
"Extraordinary... illuminates the soul of heritage... historical fiction of the highest order."--Philadelphia Enquirer