Thereafter Johnnie - Hardcover

Herron, Carolivia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394576446 ISBN 13: 9780394576442

Publisher: Random House, 1991

Synopsis

Based on classical epic structure, the saga of Johnnie, the mute daughter of an incestuous union, and her odyssey in search of her story confronts issues of race, xenophobia, love and shattered myths

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Bold and brilliant, this lyrical first novel is a compelling modern epic, an allegory of civilization revealed in the pain and passions of an educated African-American family. Composed of 24 parts anchored in the hours of the day, this cyclical tale traces--into the past and future--its heroine's search for her identity. Johnnie Snowdon, mute until the age of 14, is born of the incestuous union between her mother, Patricia, and Patricia's father. When her mother succumbs to madness and commits suicide, Johnnie, who has only vague clues about her father's identity, sets out to find and understand her family. Her odyssey parallels a race war that starts in the nation's capital, as Third World countries battle the U.S. In incantatory prose, Herron evokes the complex eroticism that produced Johnnie, capturing in that metaphor--which is extended in the Snowdon family dynamics--the tensions between black and white, those in power and those in need, those who destroy and those who are self-destructive. Her narrative spans the history of African-Americans, including the incestuous relationships of slaveholders and slaves. Finally, the questing, courageous Johnnie, born of suffering, exemplifies the light that might guide humans toward humane conduct.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This intricate and fascinating first novel tells the story of several generations of an African American family in Washington, D.C. The central character, Johnnie, is the daughter of an incestuous union between her mother and grandfather. Through her eyes, light is shed not only on her own quite complicated family and social relations but on the very workings of history, religion, and identity in the community in which she lives. The unusual combination of classical epic structure and riveting, sometimes shockingly frank language is particularly striking and makes for an intense reading experience.
- Jessica Grim, Univ. of California at Berkeley Lib.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0394576446
• ISBN 13: 9780394576442
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 243