Praisesong For The Widow - Literary Significance and Reception

Literary Significance and Reception

"The praisong is performed by a group of dancing natives on the tiny island of Carriacou, and how Avey Johnson comes to be there...is a story both convincing and eerily dreamlike" Anne Tyler, The New York Herald

"Praisesong is not only about alienation and reaffirmation, but also about the role and the importance of Black women as transmitters and preservers of culture, identity, and heritage." Thelma Ravell-Pinto, Journal of Black Studies, 1987

"It doesn't take a reader long to figure out where Paule Marshall is headed in her ultimately successful new novel, Praisesong for the Widow. Christopher Lee, The New York Times, 1983

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