In her second novel, J. California Cooper fashions a town where goodness lives next door to greed. Told in a voice reminiscent of oral history, this powerful story follows three families whose paths intertwine with the devil's in their quests for wealth, power and love.
J. California Cooper is the author of four novels and six collections of stories. She was honored as Black Playwright of the Year, and her work received the American Book Award, the James Baldwin Writing Award, and the Literary Lion Award from the American Library Association. She died in 2014. View titles by J. California Cooper
"Marvelously textured and layered with voices that weave in and out of each other but never collide." --Los Angeles Times

"Cooper's...style is deceptively simple and  direct, and the vale of tears in which her  characters reside is never so deep that a rich chuckle  at a foolish person's foolishness cannot be heard." --Alice Walker

"An old-fashioned morality tale that quickly engages the reader in the lives of a large cast of unforgettable characters." --The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"The wicked and righteous reap their just rewards in Cooper's calamitous, unabashedly preachy family epic." --The Plain Dealer

"Cooper writes  about small-town life with a verve that nearly bursts off the page."
--Ms

About

In her second novel, J. California Cooper fashions a town where goodness lives next door to greed. Told in a voice reminiscent of oral history, this powerful story follows three families whose paths intertwine with the devil's in their quests for wealth, power and love.

Author

J. California Cooper is the author of four novels and six collections of stories. She was honored as Black Playwright of the Year, and her work received the American Book Award, the James Baldwin Writing Award, and the Literary Lion Award from the American Library Association. She died in 2014. View titles by J. California Cooper

Praise

"Marvelously textured and layered with voices that weave in and out of each other but never collide." --Los Angeles Times

"Cooper's...style is deceptively simple and  direct, and the vale of tears in which her  characters reside is never so deep that a rich chuckle  at a foolish person's foolishness cannot be heard." --Alice Walker

"An old-fashioned morality tale that quickly engages the reader in the lives of a large cast of unforgettable characters." --The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"The wicked and righteous reap their just rewards in Cooper's calamitous, unabashedly preachy family epic." --The Plain Dealer

"Cooper writes  about small-town life with a verve that nearly bursts off the page."
--Ms

Books for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Each May, we honor the stories, histories, and cultures of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Below is a selection of acclaimed fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators to share with your students this month and throughout the year. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

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