Cane River

Lalita Tademy

Apr 2001 · Sold by Grand Central Publishing

About this ebook

A New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick-the unique and deeply moving saga of four generations of African-American women whose journey from slavery to freedom begins on a Creole plantation in Louisiana.

Beginning with her great-great-great-great grandmother, a slave owned by a Creole family, Lalita Tademy chronicles four generations of strong, determined black women as they battle injustice to unite their family and forge success on their own terms. They are women whose lives begin in slavery, who weather the Civil War, and who grapple with contradictions of emancipation, Jim Crow, and the pre-Civil Rights South. As she peels back layers of racial and cultural attitudes, Tademy paints a remarkable picture of rural Louisiana and the resilient spirit of one unforgettable family.

There is Elisabeth, who bears both a proud legacy and the yoke of bondage... her youngest daughter, Suzette, who is the first to discover the promise-and heartbreak-of freedom... Suzette's strong-willed daughter Philomene, who uses a determination born of tragedy to reunite her family and gain unheard-of economic independence... and Emily, Philomene's spirited daughter, who fights to secure her children's just due and preserve their dignity and future.

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Cane River presents a slice of American history never before seen in such piercing and personal detail.

Ratings and reviews

I liked this book about Tademy's ancestors and their struggles in the 19th and early 20th century. I especially liked the way she inserted images of newspaper accounts, slave auction lists, and census records. I would read these documents just after reading the fictional account and would connect the names to the characters, making them more "alive." I look forward to reading the sequel, Red River.

A very interesting read. I read Cane River the first time, then discussed it with my pawpaw. He told me a lot about it, then I read it agian.. loved it

I would wake up extra early in the morning just to read this book. Powerful and very beautifully written.

About the author

A former vice-president at Sun Microsystems, Lalita Tademy left the corporate world to immerse herself in tracing her family's past and in writing.