Red River, Lalita Tademy
Red River, Lalita Tademy
3 Rating(s)
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
Club: $11.25

Red River

Author: Lalita Tademy

Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Unabridged: 13 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/09/2007


Synopsis

April 13, 1873. What happened that day in the small Southern town of Colfax, Louisiana, was called “the Colfax Riot.” But it was something far more devastating…
Weaving together history and the story of her own family, Lalita Tademy, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller Cane River, has written an epic work of fiction: the dramatic, intertwining story of two families struggling to survive and thrive in an America deeply divided after the Civil War.
For the newly freed black residents of Colfax, Louisiana, the beginning of reconstruction promised them the right to vote, own property, and, at last, control their own lives. But in the space of a day, angry whites would take back Colfax in one of the deadliest incidents of racial violence in Southern history. In the bitter aftermath, the Tademys and the Smiths will have to deal with the wreckage, push on, and build a better life for their sons and daughters over the next seventy years.
A unique accomplishment, this is history never before told, brought to life through the unforgettable lives of three generations of African American husbands and wives, parents and children. A saga of violence, courage, and, most of all, dreams broken, repaired, and strengthened over time, RED RIVER explores issues that resonate to this day…as it illuminates the sometimes heartbreaking choices we all must make to claim the legacy that is ours.

About The Author

A former vice president at Sun Microsystems, Lalita Tademy left the corporate world to immerse herself in tracing her family's past and in writing. Her works include Citizen Creek, Cane River, and Red River.Bahni Turpin is an ensemble member of the Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles. She has guest starred in many television series, including NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Six Feet Under, Cold Case, What About Brian, and The Comeback. Her film credits include Brokedown Palace, Crossroads, and Daughters of The Dust. Ms. Turpin won the Odyssey Award for The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex. She has also received many AudioFile Earphones Awards for her unforgettable narration, including one for Precious by Sapphire, and for the National Book Award finalist and Oprah Book Club Pick The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. She's also a member of the cast recording of The Help, which won numerous awards.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Debby on October 28, 2008

I'd have to say that Red River (along with Lalita Tademy's first book Cane River) is historical fiction at it's finest! Tademy interweaves her own family history with fiction and well-researched facts in order to tell the story of what is commonly known in the post-Civil War Reconstruction history a......more

Goodreads review by Sally on February 09, 2009

This is Lalita Tademy's second novel, based on her father's side of her family tree. This gut-wrenching novel focuses on what has been referred to as the "Colfax Riot" of 1873 -- but which was really a massacre of 150 black freedmen, during the period of Reconstruction in Louisiana. The attack follo......more

Goodreads review by Lauren on February 28, 2017

Interesting, but not as good as Cane River.......more

Goodreads review by Nitya on February 13, 2015

Since it is now a widely accepted fact that history is written by the winners, I wasn't surprised to learn that an incident named "The Colfax Riot" could actually have been more accurately termed a massacre. The few facts I managed to retain from the incredibly long-winded description of events show......more

Goodreads review by Linda on May 27, 2018

This book moved me in a way that a really good read will. It begins with an actual historical event...an event that I knew nothing about. An event told in a way that cut my heart to shreds. Yes, I know that history is written by the winners, but here we are in 2018--can we not be a bit more accurate......more