Stuff
Product Details
Washington Square Press, August 2003
Trade Paperback, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 0743412664
ISBN-13: 9780743412667
Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1
Description
When Odessa Blackburn is three years old her beloved grandmother dies, and so begins her story, set in St. Louis,Missouri, and rural Mississippi. As the Þfth born of eight children, Odessa loses her innocence at Þrst when her drunken father sexually abuses her, and then again when she alone witnesses her father taking the life of his own brother.
Fifth Born is Zelda Lockhart's debut novel, lyrically written and powerful in its exploration of how secrets can tear apart lives and families. It is a story of love, longing, and redemption, as Odessa walks away from those whom she believes to be her kin to discover the true meaning of family.
Read more:
Chapter 1O Magazine Lockhart's mastery of sensory detail -- the tastes, smells, sounds, and sights of Odessa's world
-- roots us moment to moment in the hardscrabble life of this transcendent tale.
Essence A touching story told with incredible grace and subtlety.
The San Francisco Chronicle The language in [Fifth Born] is eloquent, the writing style poetic and the use of African American dialogue masterful.
Kirkus Reviews A poetic debut....An impressively mature piece of work.
Robin D. Stone With compassion, wit and grace, Zelda Lockhart gives us a new heroine: Odessa
-- forgotten, betrayed, wounded in body but strong in spirit that keeps us rooting for her 'til the sweet, sweet end.
