Brown Girl, Brownstones, Paperback

"An unforgettable novel written with pride and anger, with rebellion and tears." --The New York Herald Tribune

Now including a new foreword by the prolific Haitian author Edwidge Danticat, Brown Girl, Brownstones is the work of one of America's finest contemporary black women writers.

Set in Brooklyn during the Depression and World War II, it chronicles the efforts of Barbadian immigrants to surmount poverty and racism and to make their new country home. Selina Boyce, the novel's memorable heroine, is conflicted by the opposing aspirations of her parents: her hardworking, ambitious mother longs to buy a brownstone row house while her easygoing father prefers to dream of effortless success and his native island's lushness. Eventually, in this coming-of-age story, Selina must forge her own identity, sexuality, and sense of values in her new country and reconcile group tradition with individual potential.

About the Author:

Paule Marshall is the author of the novels Brown Girl, Brownstones; The Chosen Place; The Timeless People; Praisesong for the Widow; and Daughters. She has also written several collections of short stories, including Reena and Other Stories, and a memoir entitled Triangular Road. She is Hellen Gould Sheppard Professor of Literature and Culture at New York University.