A Million Nightingales

I have not read a book this profoundly moving in a long, long time. I read books all the time--good books, bad books, mediocre books, books my friends have written--and with each book I read, my heart yearns for something that is as exquisitely written as A Million Nightingales. Every book Susan Straight has written has been thoughtfully, creatively rendered. I have read and loved all of them. But this one, by far, will be placed on my list of favorite books of all time. The words of the text sing like a lyrical psalm of outcry to god for the grief of children, for the grief of mothers, for the grief of souls separated by cruelty and greed. This book will touch the heart of anyone who believes that we must be reminded of true things, even if they are painful, so that we can move forward instead of repeating the past. A Million Nightingales is not a chronicle of hate, but rather an anthem of love.

This story will stay with you. It was sad but beautiful and inspiring. Don't listen to the one negative reviewer. I could not put this book down. I love the first person narrative and the dialoge in this story flows like poetry.

I bouoght this book yesterday and finished it tonight. There is no other way to say it: this writer has created a masterpiece. My breath has been taken away by what she has created on the pages. Unforgettable. I had not read any of this writer's work before yesterday. I will read all of what she has written now. It is life-affirming to know that a person can create imaginary characters that actually change you. So, to the author, I say thank you.

If the language of pain is universal, Susan Straight is an inspired translator. In luminous prose, A Million Nightingales is a revelation of style and acuity of vision, the characters multidimensional, human, flawed, fragile and brave, the novel following the dangerous path of a beautiful fourteen-year old slave, Moinette, a petite mulatresse, through the treacherous world of early 19th century Louisiana. Like all slaves, Moinette's fate is, indeed in the hands of others. Recently acquired from the French, Louisiana is a strange mix of race and regulations, the French Slave Code of 1724 made more restrictive by the Americans in 1806. Innocent of such realities as a girl, Moinette is sheltered in the slave quarters, her mother instilling caution in her child, exercising her own, watching over her daughter at night: "Lie down make me too rested. Lie down mean I can't watch." Following her mother's example, Moinette's language is spare: "A hard knot blocked my throat. Like a pecan lodged there, where the words should come out." Yet these precious words bring Moinette comfort, as she turns them over in her mind like prayers. Sold without warning, Moinette is carried to a plantation far from her mother, fearing she will never see her again. Their lives unbearable, some slaves dare to run, easily recovered with the aid of slave-catchers and rewards, dealt with severely: "Chiens de negre, chiens de renard. Dogs for blacks, dogs for fox." For Moinette, the years pass slowly, assaulted at every turn in a society that views her as property, her one chance at love lost because she cannot bear to leave her small son behind. As the child of a slave, Jean-Paul only sees his mother sporadically, their relationship altered by the distance of the early years and her inability to set him free or protect him from the world at large, one filled with Indians, Africans, Americans, French, and English, all involved in the trade economy, from field hands to masters, tradesmen, slave-catchers, lawyers and ladies, a m?lange of race and heritage often at odds. Masterfully blending characters of varying race and position, Straight illustrates the complexities of a society besieged by conflicting interests and legislation. Moinette's life is defined through her association with these characters, caught in a web of time and circumstance, her every attempt at freedom thwarted, from the simple connections with other slaves to the more subtle interactions with her white masters. There is no freedom in an institution based on greed and inhumanity, only a process of bartering, a miasma of conflicting regulations that block Moinette at every turn. Through difficult years of patience and negotiation, she continues to be the subject of random savagery. That she experiences so little love, save that of her mother, is unfathomable, but Moinette survives the brutality of her existence, finally a haven for others less fortunate, a poignant example of the indestructibility of the human

In the early nineteenth century following the United States purchase of the Louisiana Territory from the French, Moinette a "mulatresse" is a personal slave to Cephaline while her beloved mother works in the master's home near New Orleans. Moinette's life seems good to her as her mistress treats her kindly and even shares books with her. However, when Cephaline suddenly dies, Moinette becomes expendable. She is sold to another plantation owner. Ripped from her mother and a somewhat sheltered life, Moinette becomes a sexual plaything to her new owner. Abused and sexual assaulted and raped, Moinette eventually gives birth, but is once again ripped asunder from a loved one when she is sold and her child remains behind. Her dreams keep her going that one day she, her mom, and her child will be reunited. This is a fascinating yet horrifying look at the de jure plight of a black female slave who must suffer sexual assault and humiliation. Adding to the overall feel of debasement is the comparisons to the lifestyles of her mistress. Though Moinette seems too enlightened about her place in society, readers will feel for her (impossible to fully empathize unless you lived the scene as being beneath the lowest rung of society) as historical readers get the rest of the story not included in the hasty books. Harriet Klausner