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Description
Serpent's GiftOne of the most striking and heartening developments in American letters in recent years has been the flowering and attendant celebration of African American writers and of books that have introduced to readers everywhere people, situations, and events that have, hitherto, largely been ignored, denied, or unknown. Now comes Helen Elaine Lee's supremely assured The Serpent's Gift, a first novel that gives to us with the fullest emotional resonance,
One of the most striking and heartening developments in American letters in recent years has been the flowering and attendant celebration of African-American writers and of books that have introduced to readers everywhere people, situations, and events that have, hitherto, largely been ignored, denied, or unknown. Now comes Helen Elaine Lee's supremely assured The Serpent's Gift, a first novel that gives to us -- with the fullest emotional resonance, humor, and exultation in the novelist's art -- the intertwined stories of two families from early in this century to our own times.Central to this haunting (and sometimes haunted) novel are the mothers, a study in contrast in strength and rigidity, Ruby Staples and Eula Smalls, and their children: LaRue Smalls, adventurer, storyteller, and chronicler of his people; his sister Vesta, intimidated by life from an early age, yet determined, valiant even, to hold her disparate family together; and Ouida Staples, a rare beauty who elects, in the face of convention, to spend her life with another woman. Each will face trials and challenges and sometimes be transformed, shedding like the serpent, an old skin, reborn by the art of invention.
From its opening pages, which recount in eerily compelling detail, the death that will bring these people together, to its almost pastoral conclusion, The Serpent's Gift creates a world that is both realistic in its detail and lyrical in its presentation -- it is a superb, triumphant debut
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Published: 10/01/1995
ISBN: 9780684801605
Pages: 384
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 8.58h x 5.57w x 0.98d
Award: Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary_award - Winner
Review Citations: New York Times 12/10/1995 pg. 44
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4.6 ★★★★★
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Product Reviews
★★★★★ 5
Poetry, Lyric, and the Mind of a Scholar
Format: Paperback
The first essay on the lyric is necessary reading for any poet.
The whole book is excellent reading, often on the Appalachian writers. Excellent resource for scholars and casual readers. Highly recommend. Somehow the essays are both intimate and deeply theoretical. Powerful display of Jesse Grave's scope of thinking.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2022
★★★★★ 4
What is poetry?
Format: Paperback
I have been an avid reader of nearly every genre of written creativity except for poetry. Other than the rhythmic beautiful descriptions in certain pieces, the heart and soul of poetry has always escaped me. This book moved me closer to discovering and understanding that beat. It has a heavy focus on the Appalachian region, and taught me the deep purpose of cadence and the beauty of the simplicity found in that. Some of the poems are dark, some not so much. I really enjoyed this book and it showed me on a more personal level why poetry should be read and appreciated. Graves work is a treasure.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2022
★★★★★ 5
So readable!
Format: Paperback
I devoured this book in one day, and I’m very glad I didn’t read reviews first. Go in blind if you can—the jacket gives just enough and nothing more.
At first, it feels like a story about control. Dannie—who has planned every detail of her life—has everything working exactly as intended.
Until one night she falls asleep and spends an hour five years in the future.
It doesn’t feel like a dream. It feels like inhabiting a premonition—something real, physical, and undeniable. When she wakes up, everything shifts. The story moves from careful planning to knowing—and not being able to change what’s coming.
It’s not the story you think it will be.
But it is a very good love story.
What I appreciated most is how it explores what love actually asks of us, without dressing it up or making it easy.
It’s a quick read, but it lingers.
And somehow, I’m not even mad at the author for taking me on an unexpected journey.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2026
★★★★★ 4
Perfect summer book!
Format: Kindle
Dannie has had her life planned out since she was a little girl. Get into the good school, find the right job, meet the guy, find the perfect job, get engaged, get married, buy the house, and maybe one day, have the kid. So far, everything is going according to her plan. She has made it to the "get engaged" moment and it is perfect. She has the man of her dreams and everything is on track to meet all of her goals. But the night of her engagement, something makes her swerve off course. She dreams a very vivid and real dream that it is 5 years in the future and she is in a different apartment and has a different ring on her finger, and there is a different man in her life. She wakes up suddenly and tries to forget. 4 and a half years go by and Dannie still hasn't set a wedding date...life keeps getting in the way. One night she and her fiance meet her best friend, Bella, for dinner on a double date only to find that her best friend's date is the man she dreamed about. All Dannie can think about why he is in her life and more importantly, how she can change the future. Along the way, Dannie has to learn many hard lessons, including accepting the unexpected.
Told from Dannie's perspective, this fast paced and heart breaking novel, examines love and one's chosen family. The author uses "the dream" to frame the entire story and I loved the feel and rhythm of this book. It feels suspenseful knowing Dannie is on somewhat of a countdown. This isn't a romance book (believe me, not my thing) but it is a love story. It is a rather short novel, which made it a fast read, but I found myself wanting more. I would have liked to have seen a little more plot development before the story's major twist occurred. But overall, I really enjoyed and would recommend to anyone wanting a heartfelt, yet not sappy, summer read.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2020
★★★★★ 5
amazing!!
Format: Kindle
Full of twists and turns but an amazing story of love and friendship! A must read if you like a little mystery.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2026