On board the slaver ship "Charles Beauchamp," fourteen-year-old Tom must deal with a volcanic captain, a crazy messboy, a mysterious sailor, and a fire-and-brimstone preacher
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Joanna Scott is the author of seven books of fiction, including the novels Tourmaline and Arrogance, and the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning story collection Various Antidotes. She is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and a Lannan Award, and lives with her family in Rochester, New York.
The promise of Scott's brilliant first novel Fading, My Parmacheene Belle has been realized with this extraordinary tale of a doomed slave ship, narrated by its 14-year-old captain's apprentice. As the Charles Beauchamp crosses the Atlantic and discards its guise as a whaling vessel, Tom, whose account of the journey is rendered with Scott's flawless ear for the voices of other times and places, must contend with a growing confusion. Jack Carvee, the ship's cook, soon comes to a cruel and hideous end. The watchman, Peter Gray, is force-fed a "communion" of live cockroaches by some of the crew, led by the vicious Pharaoh and the bandy-legged Yellow Will. Tom, dubbed the Blue Monkey, is mesmerized by the wild tales about the enigmatic captain that the messboy, Brian Piper, dishes up along with the ship's grub. But nothing is as it seems. Tom, himself the privileged son of the ship's sponsor, is passing as a mere ship's lad. Peter Gray is revealed to be a woman. Her purpose in making the journey, she confides to Tom, is the quest for a mulatto African leader named Quince. Terrified both by Piper's fantastic stories about the captain and the captain's lurid descriptions of the barbaric Quince, Tom is wracked by fears at every turn. But Quince may not exist. The captain's eight dead wives may be fantasy. In this Kafka-esque narrative, only fear is real for Tom. Reality recedes as the ship takes on its dreadful human cargo, taking on a raving missionary preacher in the bargain. At the end, Tom is left wandering the ship, with Peter Gray at the helm. Scott is a writer with an exceptional narrative talent that belies her youth. This second novel demonstrates conclusively that modern literature has a major new voice.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 3.49
Within U.S.A.
Seller: Half Price Books Inc., Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!. Seller Inventory # S_336853333
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Bookmarc's, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Trade Paperback. Condition: Very Good. BZ6 - An unread, tight, clean, sound copy in color wraps with very minor overall shelf wear plus a very light crease on the back cover plus some spotting of the front endpaper plus a remainder mark on the top outside paper edges plus some wrinkling of pages 101 and 115. A story told as the journal of a privileged 14-year-old boy, the owner's son, and a captain's apprentice on a slave ship. He is one of the few on board to know before the ship leaves port that its true commission is as a slaver, not as a whaling ship. 290p. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # SCW01248
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Abacus Bookshop, Pittsford, NY, U.S.A.
softcover. Condition: Fine copy. 1st pb ed. edition. 8vo. Seller Inventory # 003808
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Columbia Books, ABAA/ILAB, MWABA, Columbia, MO, U.S.A.
1996 Scott, Joanna THE CLOSEST POSSIBLE UNION NY: Henry Holt, c1996 290pp 8vo Fine paperbound copy. Seller Inventory # 54260
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Montclair Book Center, Montclair, NJ, U.S.A.
Trade Paperback. Condition: USED Good. Seller Inventory # 544189
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 50-0805039732-G
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Books Puddle, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Condition: Used. pp. 290. Seller Inventory # 262646973
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Robinson Street Books, IOBA, Binghamton, NY, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Very good. Few creases. Seller Inventory # lower2rsg117
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Robinson Street Books, IOBA, Binghamton, NY, U.S.A.
Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Very good, some creasing, pages little tan.*. Seller Inventory # lower46dm3046
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Majestic Books, Hounslow, United Kingdom
Condition: Used. pp. 290. Seller Inventory # 6282338
Quantity: 1 available