To mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of its publication, Amistad is honored to reissue in hardcover Let the Lion Eat Straw, a dazzling, hymnlike novel that tells the story of Abeba Williams, whose mother abandons the poverty and despair of the South -- and in the process her daughter -- for opportunities up North. In the absence of her mother, Abeba clings to Mamma Habblesham, a woman with enviable reserves of love and hope. Their affection for each other seems boundless -- until Abeba's mother returns to take her daughter to Brooklyn. As she grows up, her exceptional musical talent promises to be an avenue of escape. But a handsome young singer distracts her, and opportunities that once seemed so close begin to fall away. Now married with children, Abeba fights to maintain the dignity of her family.
Replete with lyricism that lingers long after the reader has finished the last page, Let the Lion Eat Straw is a revelation of the glory in apparently ordinary lives.

Let the Lion Eat Straw

Literature & Fiction

Southerland. Ellease

United States

Amistad

Hailed upon publication by writers and critics alike, including Shirley Hazzard and Charles Johnson, Let the Lion Eat Straw is a dazzling novel that tells the story of Abeba Williams, whose mother abandons the poverty of the South –– and in the process her daughter –– for opportunities up North. Missing her mother, she clings to Mamma Habblesham, a woman with enviable reserves of love and hope. Their affection for each other seems boundless –– until Abeba's mother returns to take her to Brooklyn.
 As Abeba grows up, her exceptional musical talent promises to be an avenue of escape. But a handsome singer distracts her, and opportunities that once seemed so close begin to fall away. Now married with children of her own, she fights to maintain the dignity of her family. Let the Lion Eat Straw is a revelation of the glory in apparently ordinary lives.

Contemporary

Signet

Black, illegitimate, and born in poverty, Abeba Williams must forsake her exceptional musical talent and, as economic and social realities close around her, fights for a decent life for her husband and children

J.M.Dent & Sons Ltd.

This book is "set in Brooklyn, Harlem, and Long Island, New York, a poignant celebration of a family which is strengthened by the bond between mother and daughter."

Feast of Fools: A Novel

Oseye, Ebele

Africana Legacy Pr Inc

Opening line: The creative writer : from blank page to finished story

Reference

Writing, Research & Publishing Guides

Eneke Publications

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Books by Southerland. Ellease