A Servant's Tale: A Novel (Norton Paperback Fiction) - Softcover

Fox, Paula

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393322858 ISBN 13: 9780393322859

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2001

Synopsis

"A rare and wondrous thing....[Fox] knows how to create a character."―Vogue

Luisa de la Cueva was born on the Caribbean island of Malagita, of a plantation owner's son and a native woman, a servant in the kitchen. Her years on Malagita were sweet with the beauty of bamboo, banana, and mango trees with flocks of silver-feathered guinea hens underneath, the magic of a victrola, and the caramel flan that Mama sneaked home from the plantation kitchen. Luisa's father, fearing revolution, takes his family to New York. In the barrio his once-powerful name means nothing, and the family establishes itself in a basement tenement. For Luisa, Malagita becomes a dream. Luisa does not dream of going to college, as her friend Ellen does, or of winning the lottery, as her father does. She takes a job as a servant and, paradoxically, grows more independent. She marries and later raises a son alone. She works as a servant all her life. A Servant's Tale is the story of a life that is simple on the surface but full of depth and richness as we come to know it, a story told with consummate grace and compassion by Paula Fox.

About this title

About the Author

Paula Fox (1923―2017) was the author of Desperate Characters, The Widow’s Children, A Servant’s Tale, The God of Nightmares, Poor George, The Western Coast, and Borrowed Finery: A Memoir, among other books.

Review

A rare and wondrous thing....[Fox] knows how to create a character. -- Vogue

[A] book I absolutely loved....Marvelously observed, horrific without being violent, modesty and reticent. -- Marina Warner, author of From the Beast to the Blonde

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0393322858
• ISBN 13: 9780393322859
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336