Author:Caryl Phillips
'The funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest man I ever knew.' This is how W.C. Fields described Bert Williams, the highest-paid entertainer in America in his heyday and someone who counted the King of England and Buster Keaton among his fans.
Born in the Bahamas, he moved to California with his family. Too poor to attend Stanford University, he took to life on the stage with his friend George Walker. Together they played lumber camps and mining towns until they eventually made the agonising decision to 'play the coon'. Off-stage, Williams was a tall, light-skinned man with marked poise and dignity; on-stage he now became a shuffling, inept 'nigger' who wore blackface make-up. As the new century dawned they were headlining on Broadway. But the mask was beginning to overwhelm Williams and he sank into bouts of melancholia and heavy drinking, unable to escape the blackface his public demanded.
This is a tragic story with not a word wasted, raised to an elegiac level by Phillips's supple, controlled prose
—— Sunday IndependentA subtle and poignant novel... A fine and beautifully nuanced performance
—— Sunday TimesA compassionate portrait of an enigmatic figure... Written with Phillips's trademark understated elegance
—— The TimesPhillips has brilliantly resurrected a bitter-sweet life... Without a doubt Phillips' most accomplished novel
—— Time OutCaryl Philips novel tells [Walker and William's story] with sensitivity and eloquence. He is a consummate storyteller...
—— ObserverA novel that the reader can sink into and enjoy...sketched vividly and sympathetically. A rewarding book.
—— ScotsmanJean Plaidy, by the skilful blending of superb storytelling and meticulous attention to authenticity of detail and depth of charaterization has become one of the country's most widely read novelists
—— Sunday TimesJoughin's second novel confirms her gift for mining tragi-comic gems from outposts of shabby bohemia
—— The IndependentJoughin's poetic prose perfectly conveys the delicacy of human emotion, and the frequent disjunction between art and life'
—— Choice MagazineLike a cross between Margaret Drabble and Francoise Sagan
—— The TimesJoughin has an appealing darkness and urgency, as she potently conveys the pleasures and pains of human interactions
—— The Sunday TimesAdeptly written and enjoyable... Ruth's childhood perspectives are extremely well captured
—— TelegraphStriking story of Ruth and Gray under the spell of famous poets' lives
—— Good Housekeeping's 8 Great ReadsReading Joughin's second novel is like immersing yourself in a cool pool at a hazy summer party ...as addictively abrasive as a shot of cold vodka, this wil leave you both refreshed and gasping for stability
—— Time OutThis darkly comic story about unpredictable love is perfect if you're looking for some intelligent chicklit
—— Family Circle
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