Margaret Becker, a single mother surviving on food stamps in the backwoods of the Catskill Mountains, reinvigorates her life through the adoption of an extended family
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
With unerring precision, this remarkable first novel evokes the mean lives of Catskill dirt farmers: wounded cars sprouting in every yard, a gaggle of illegitimate children, often conceived incestuously, endemic drunkenness, casual adultery. The story revolves around Margaret Becker, a woman who has "just about always cleaned houses for a living,' " and now comes home to her three-year-old son, born out of wedlock. Managing to rise from the squalor, Margaret's strong spirit uncovers beneath the bovine exteriors of people she has known all her life an answering spirit. Margaret is that rare person who, Zen-like, takes on the essence of those she loves. Thus it is that Beulah, the farm woman who brings Margaret into her home, is cured of cancer by Margaret's formidable powers. So too, when Margaret rescues three-year-old Billy, starving, speechless and traumatized, she can unclasp the disembodied fingers of his dead mother and free the child. Yet grounding the book in the everyday world are precise details of cows calving, horses broken and trained, potatoes stored against winter frost. Little people, minor characters, pathetic survivors of illness and ignorance, come to life in Blakeslee's distinctive vernacular voice, as she dares to explore and make credible perceptions beyond our understanding. This is an impressive debut.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"I feel stupid goin' on like this but this is my life and Marilyn, she's the lady from Social Services who comes to talk and to make sure I don't have no more kids, she told me that I should git out what I feel or she says I'll take it out on Bubby." Margaret Becker's vulgar, moving, awkward, sometimes joyous narrative of her squalid life in the Catskills includes blow-by-blow descriptions of Bubby's conception and birth and of the comfort she finds with the local prostitute. Blakeslee can certainly write, but only fans of Tobacco Road and The Beans of Egypt, Maine will appreciate her first novel. Not a necessary purchase. Maurice Taylor, Brunswick Cty. Lib., Southport, N.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Seller: Sara Armstrong - Books, Cedarville, CA, U.S.A.
1st edition. 178pp, 8vo. F/NF. Hardcover in DJ. Book is crisp and tight, corners sharp, no markings. Jacket has a trace of rubbing, no tears or creasing. In a DJ protector. Novel set in the Catskills. Seller Inventory # 27131
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Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. First Edition. first. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 45572247-75
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Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. First Edition. first. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 15970710-20
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Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.9. Seller Inventory # G0395486017I4N00
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Seller: Ash Grove Heirloom Books, Pueblo, CO, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Dust jacket protected by removable Brodart protective cover. Inscribed By Author/Fly Leaf. Book. Seller Inventory # 005654
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Seller: Cameron Park Books, Raleigh, NC, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good. First Edition. First edition, first printing, first novel. Very good hardcover with very good DJ in new Brodart jacket. Splendid copy - unmarked, bright and clean - binding tight and square. Enjoy reading with a real book in your hands. Shipping from North Carolina. Dedicated to delighting our customers. Delivery confirmation provided on all domestic orders. Happy to ship to international locations. Consider expedited shipping - just a little more moves your purchase a lot faster. Digital photos available on request for any book. Seller Inventory # mon0000011191
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Seller: Miranda Books, Easthampton, MA, U.S.A.
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First printing. Very mild shelf wear. Near fine. Seller Inventory # 2310060017
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Seller: Ash Grove Heirloom Books, Pueblo, CO, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. Inscribed and dated, 1989, by author on fly leaf "11/? /89 For____/with love, /Mermer". Also, Signed on title page by author. Dust jacket protected by removable Brodart protective cover. Inscribed By Author/Fly Leaf. Book. Seller Inventory # 000384
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Seller: biblioboy, North Providence, RI, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. Boston Mass: Houghton Mifflin. 1989.Taken into the odd but loving household of Beulah, Tappen and Doro in the Catskill Mountains, Margaret Becker brings along Jo, the town prostitute, and Billy, the abandoned boy she takes in after her own child dies. . 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Remainder mark to bottom pages in fine DJ.ref13. Seller Inventory # 035160
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Seller: S. Howlett-West Books (Member ABAA), Modesto, CA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition; 1st Printing. This book is in Near Fine condition and has a Near Fine dust jacket. The book and its contents are in clean, bright condition. The text pages are clean and bright. The dust jacket is crisp and clean. "Mermer Blakeslee was born, raised, and still lives in the Catskill Mountains of New York. She has written two novels, Same Blood (Houghton Mifflin, 1989) and In Dark Water (Ballantine, 1998) ; the latter was selected by Barnes & Noble for its Discover Great New Writers series. She is also the author of the nonfiction work In the Yikes! Zone: A Conversation with Fear (Dutton, 2002). Blakeslee received three New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships in fiction and the 2006 Narrative Prize from Narrative Magazine for her story "Leenie. " " (from Wikipedia). Seller Inventory # A43578
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