{"product_id":"slaveroad-9781668057223","title":"Slaveroad","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Master of language\" (\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) John Edgar Wideman uses his unique generational position to explore what he calls the \"slaveroad,\" offering \"a fresh perspective of slavery's impact and a confirmation of Wideman's exalted status in American letters\" (\u003ci\u003eNew York\u003c\/i\u003e magazine).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJohn Edgar Wideman's \u003ci\u003eSlaveroad \u003c\/i\u003eis a groundbreaking work of \"bruising candor and obsessive originality\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e). For centuries, the buying and selling of human beings was legal, and millions of Africans were kidnapped then forcibly transported across the Atlantic Ocean to serve as slaves. The enduring legacies of this slave road traffic--denied, unacknowledged, misunderstood, repressed--continue to poison the experiences and journeys of all Americans. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a section of \"Slaveroad,\" called \"Sheppard,\" William Henry Sheppard, a descendant of enslaved Virginians, travels back to Africa where he works as a missionary, converting Africans to Christianity alongside his Southern white colleague. Wideman imagines drinking afternoon tea with Lucy Gant Sheppard, William's wife, who was on her own slaveroad, as she experienced her husband's adultery with the African women he was trying to convert. In \"Penn Station,\" Wideman's brother, after being confined forty-four years in prison, travels from Pittsburgh to New York. As Wideman awaits his brother, he asks, \"How will I distinguish my brother from the dead. Dead passengers on the slaveroad.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A blend of memoir, fiction, history\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eSlaveroad \u003c\/i\u003eis a book that will inform, challenge, and surprise Wideman fans as well as newcomers to his writing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Edgar Wideman's books include, among others, \u003ci\u003eLook for Me and I'll Be Gone\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eYou Made Me Love You\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAmerican Histories\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWriting to Save a Life\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBrothers and Keepers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePhiladelphia Fire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFatheralong\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHoop Roots\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSent for You Yesterday\u003c\/i\u003e. He won the PEN\/Faulkner Award twice and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and National Book Award. He is a MacArthur Fellow and a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the PEN\/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. He divides his time between New York and France.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51635418300690,"sku":"9781668057223","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d062db60-045b-4e73-8c3c-d19c2c34ce02.jpg?v=1759234458","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/slaveroad-9781668057223","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}