Poetry Books
George and Rue
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Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
Author: George Elliott Clarke
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $10.48
You Save: $ 12.52 ( 54% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
Author: George Elliott Clarke
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Average Customer Rating:
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George and Rue Description
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780786716203
ISBN: 0786716207
Label: Carroll & Graf
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2006-01-03
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Studio: Carroll & Graf
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780786716203
ISBN: 0786716207
Label: Carroll & Graf
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2006-01-03
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Studio: Carroll & Graf
Editorial Review of George and Rue
It was a "slug-ugly" crime. Brothers George and Rufus Hamilton, in a robbery gone wrong, drunkenly bludgeoned a taxi driver to death with a hammer. It was 1949, and the two siblings, part Mi'kmaq and part African, were both hanged for the killing. Those facts are skeletons in George Elliott Clarke's family closet. Both repelled and intrigued by his ancestral cousins' deeds, which he learned about from his mother shortly before her death, poet, playwright and screenwriter Clarke set out to discover just what kind of forces would reduce men to crime, violence and, ultimately, murder. His findings took shape in the 2001 Governor General's Award–winning Execution Poems and culminates brilliantly in George and Rue. The novel shifts seamlessly back into the killers' pasts, recounting a bleak and sometimes comic tale of victims of violence who became killers, a black community too poor and too shamed to assist its downtrodden members, and a white community bent on condemning all blacks as dangerous outsiders. This is a book about a death that brims with fierce vitality and dark humor. Infused with the sensual, rhythmic beauty that defines Clarke's writing, here is a literary debut that will be marked by celebration—and controversy.
Customer Reviews of George and Rue
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent Book A MUST read
Review: When I picked up this book and read the inside cover, I wasnt sure what to expect. First of all, I've never heard of George Elliot Clarke but I thought, "hmmm, (reading the inside cover to my self)..a story set in 1949(the year I was born)..about two siblings and the authors search to find out what forces would reduce men to crime and violence and ultimately murder", intrigued me to the point of sitting down and at least starting the book. In addition, the story is set in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, areas I know nothing about in terms of black folks and how they fared in that time. The author gives us a history lesson woven in with a complex subject matter that had me at times weeping other times cringing as these young men had a ROUGH childhood filled with pain. Mr Clarke hooked me from the introduction and took me inside the world of these people up north with words that had me feeling the pain and suffering with each page. There were times he used words I felt I needed to look up yet I knew what he meant as I continued to read. The "Blackened" English he uses is so appropriate that Im not sure why he, in his own words "accepts total guilt for it; I LOVED IT. His writing reminds me of Richard Wright as it is such a powerful piece that I will read again. Let me also state this disclaimer: it is not for the faint of heart as some of the descriptions of child abuse and other experiences the brothers faced and crimes they committed are brutal yet they give you a complete picture of who they are and I suggest why people sometimes resort to crime as a way out. Clearly we read every day about crimes that seem senseless to us but underneath the story line is a "reason". This is George and Rue's story. If your looking for that book that is just plain ole good story telling from start to finish, this is the one.
Linda
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Canadian Tragedy
Review: Derived from bits of truth, author George Elliott Clarke narrates the fictionalized account of the Hamilton brothers. In Nova Scotia, Ontario, Canada, the boys are born to Asa and Cynthy, a young couple living in poverty. Growing up, the boys witnessed their father abusing their mother and later turning his wicked ways toward them. The brothers are uneducated, dropping out of school in the third grade. George and Rue become thieves and social deviants at a young age especially since they received no direction from their parents. By the time they are sixteen and fifteen, respectively, they are on their own as both parents are dead. Clarke takes the reader inside George and Rue's lives as he chronicles their turbulent existence as they seek employment, join the armed forces, find love, become family men and then commit a crime so bad, they end up on death row.
The life George and Rue led was very interesting and that made this almost all narrative novel an interesting read. One of the most interesting aspects for this reader was how the author described incidents of prejudice and discrimination that happened in this rural Canadian province. History would have one to believe that Canada opened its arms to African Americans since they were major supporters of the Underground Railroad and emancipation. In fact, life in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Halifax and other regions of Canada was very hard for the African American. Also, very interesting was the pretense of a fair trial in Canadian court for the brothers.
While not really a book I would pick up on my own, I liked it enough to recommend it to those who enjoy Canadian history and fictionalized accounts of real crimes. I also recommend keeping a dictionary handy, because this author seems to have an extensive vocabulary that he is not afraid to use
Jeanette
APOOO BookClub
Motown Review Book Club
Review Summary: Excellent Book A MUST read
Review: When I picked up this book and read the inside cover, I wasnt sure what to expect. First of all, I've never heard of George Elliot Clarke but I thought, "hmmm, (reading the inside cover to my self)..a story set in 1949(the year I was born)..about two siblings and the authors search to find out what forces would reduce men to crime and violence and ultimately murder", intrigued me to the point of sitting down and at least starting the book. In addition, the story is set in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, areas I know nothing about in terms of black folks and how they fared in that time. The author gives us a history lesson woven in with a complex subject matter that had me at times weeping other times cringing as these young men had a ROUGH childhood filled with pain. Mr Clarke hooked me from the introduction and took me inside the world of these people up north with words that had me feeling the pain and suffering with each page. There were times he used words I felt I needed to look up yet I knew what he meant as I continued to read. The "Blackened" English he uses is so appropriate that Im not sure why he, in his own words "accepts total guilt for it; I LOVED IT. His writing reminds me of Richard Wright as it is such a powerful piece that I will read again. Let me also state this disclaimer: it is not for the faint of heart as some of the descriptions of child abuse and other experiences the brothers faced and crimes they committed are brutal yet they give you a complete picture of who they are and I suggest why people sometimes resort to crime as a way out. Clearly we read every day about crimes that seem senseless to us but underneath the story line is a "reason". This is George and Rue's story. If your looking for that book that is just plain ole good story telling from start to finish, this is the one.
Linda
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Canadian Tragedy
Review: Derived from bits of truth, author George Elliott Clarke narrates the fictionalized account of the Hamilton brothers. In Nova Scotia, Ontario, Canada, the boys are born to Asa and Cynthy, a young couple living in poverty. Growing up, the boys witnessed their father abusing their mother and later turning his wicked ways toward them. The brothers are uneducated, dropping out of school in the third grade. George and Rue become thieves and social deviants at a young age especially since they received no direction from their parents. By the time they are sixteen and fifteen, respectively, they are on their own as both parents are dead. Clarke takes the reader inside George and Rue's lives as he chronicles their turbulent existence as they seek employment, join the armed forces, find love, become family men and then commit a crime so bad, they end up on death row.
The life George and Rue led was very interesting and that made this almost all narrative novel an interesting read. One of the most interesting aspects for this reader was how the author described incidents of prejudice and discrimination that happened in this rural Canadian province. History would have one to believe that Canada opened its arms to African Americans since they were major supporters of the Underground Railroad and emancipation. In fact, life in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Halifax and other regions of Canada was very hard for the African American. Also, very interesting was the pretense of a fair trial in Canadian court for the brothers.
While not really a book I would pick up on my own, I liked it enough to recommend it to those who enjoy Canadian history and fictionalized accounts of real crimes. I also recommend keeping a dictionary handy, because this author seems to have an extensive vocabulary that he is not afraid to use
Jeanette
APOOO BookClub
Motown Review Book Club