Let the Lion Eat Straw - by Ellease Southerland (Paperback)

From the Back Cover

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.

Review Quotes

"Remarkable....A graceful hymn of love." - Time
"Imbued with African folklore...less a novel than a myth." - The New Yorker
"A remarkable first novel....that transcends race and class." - Los Angeles Times
"A beautiful book...of startling originality, simplicity, insight, and grace." - Richard Elman
"Important....It has a rich, live, radiant validity, offering characters memorably exciting." - Gwendolyn Brooks
"I felt in the presence of a talent which touches the universal." - Madeleine L'Engle
"A masterpiece...brilliant, graceful, poetic!" - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"It's difficult to believe that a first novel can be...so rich of characterization....But this one is." - Chattanooga Times
"There is more life and character, more that will linger in the mind, than in countless novels twice as long!" - New York Post
"An amazing achievement!" - Kristin Hunter
"Strong and beautiful....There is so much courage, honesty and life in this novel." - Shirley Hazzard
"Twenty-six years after its initial release, this edition of Southerland's novel about a young girl's journey to womanhood will likely attract a new generation of readers." - Black Issues Book Review
"... this poetic and memorable novel remains a testament to the power of resurrection and the powerful gift of love." - Ebony
"Reading Ellease Southerland's 1979 novel, Let the Lion Eat Straw, savvily reissued by Amistad, is like finding a little treasure on the beach -- you marvel to hold it in your hands...as moving as it is wisely, lyrically told." - O magazine
"As moving as it is wisely, lyrically told." - O magazine
"Impressive...vibrant...starkly imaginative." - John Leonard, New York Times
"A remarkable first novel." - Los Angeles Times
"This lyrical, haunting novel remains a stirring testament to the power of the human spirit and the gift of love." - The Seattle Skanner
"Revealing the grace... in ordinary lives... [this] is a novel worthy of a place in the annals of literature." - The Portland Skanner
"Touching and lovingly crafted, Let the Lion Eat Straw has been away from us too long. Let's hope this time it sticks around for good." - Washington Post Book World
"Touching and lovingly crafted, Let the Lion Eat Straw has been away from us too long." - Washington Post Book World
"[Oseye] is a seer of the interior human landscape. In Let the Lion Eat Straw, she gives her vision to her readers. I, for one, am grateful." - Maya Angelou
"Accomplished...[a] special beauty." - Library Journal
"Full of life." - School Library Journal
"A glorious rebirth! The republication of this milestone...is cause for great celebration indeed." - Sapphire, author of Push