New York Times notable book of the year In Fort-de-France, Martinique, a colorful group of musicians, street vendors, and hopeless disciples, including the author, gather under a tamarind tree to listen to legendary bard Solibo Magnificent spin tales. Suddenly, in the middle of a raucously entertaining story, Solibo drops dead. So entranced and drunken are his friends, they initially fail to realize that their hero has spoken his last word. One hysterical listener runs to find the doctor and inadvertently returns with the ...
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New York Times notable book of the year In Fort-de-France, Martinique, a colorful group of musicians, street vendors, and hopeless disciples, including the author, gather under a tamarind tree to listen to legendary bard Solibo Magnificent spin tales. Suddenly, in the middle of a raucously entertaining story, Solibo drops dead. So entranced and drunken are his friends, they initially fail to realize that their hero has spoken his last word. One hysterical listener runs to find the doctor and inadvertently returns with the overly eager, sinister chief sergeant, who holds Solibo's friends under suspicion for murder. At turns a madcap murder mystery, a political satire, and a lament on the death of a treasured tradition, Solibo Magnificent is wildly imaginative and exuberantly lyrical. Praise for Solibo Magnificent "Both a meaty tale and a cry on behalf of a drowning culture . . . by a poet and a novelist with a raffishly human and lyrical touch."-- Los Angeles Times "A world class author . . . whose voice and imagination are like nothing you've read before."-- The Washington Post Book World
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Add this copy of Solibo Magnificent to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage.
Add this copy of Solibo Magnificent to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage.
Add this copy of Solibo Magnificent to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage.
Add this copy of Solibo Magnificent to cart. $1.99, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage.
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Good. Ships in a BOX from Central Missouri! May not include working access code. Will not include dust jacket. Has used sticker(s) and some writing and/or highlighting. UPS shipping for most packages, (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes).
Add this copy of Solibo Magnificent to cart. $7.02, new condition, Sold by Book Outlet rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Jefferson City, TN, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage Books.
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Add this copy of Solibo Magnificent (Vintage International) to cart. $8.50, very good condition, Sold by Montclair Book Center rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Montclair, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Vintage.
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Good. Ships in a BOX from Central Missouri! May not include working access code. Will not include dust jacket. Has used sticker(s) and some writing or highlighting. UPS shipping for most packages, (Priority Mail for AK/HI/APO/PO Boxes).
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 208 p. Vintage International. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Partick Chamoiseau"s novel is a series of episodes surrounding the death of a story teller, Solibo, on the island of Martinique. Composed of three parts, the novel tells the stories that were told about Solibo by his friends and acquaintances as they congregate around his corpse. It also contains stories about the inabililty of the police (all Martinicans -- some who speak and think only in French and other who are bi-lingual, speaking French and Creole), to determine why he died. (They suspect he was poisoned, but everyone else knows that he died choking on words). At the end, the reader is treated to a Solibo soliloquy (which reminded me of Molly Bloom's solioquy at the end of Ulysses), which captures how the dead story teller spun his stories. I can best describe my response to the novel as tasting something delicious" The narrative dazzles the reader with stories that border on the fantastic, as though the story tellers are telling things that only happen in dreams. Readers will laugh at comic episodes, yet will be moved by this very artful study that to wonder what the world will be like when the oral tradition dies and is totally replaced by the works of "word scratchers." I discovered Chamoiseau thorugh reading Milan Kundera's book "Testaments Betrayed." I shall ever be grateful to Kundera for interesting me in this marvelous study. On completing my first reading, I've told every person I've come in contact with, both in person and by email, to read it. I'm currently planning to read it a second time very soon.
