“Straight writes about the Paloma dump the way F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about Long Island,” says the LA Times about Susan Straight’s Take One Candle Light a Room, now on sale from Pantheon Books, “We need writers like Straight to capture the sound of each new generation into perpetuity.” Check out dates for Straight’s west coast tour.
About Susan Straight:
Susan Straight is the author of six novels, including A Million Nightingales and the National Book Award finalist Highwire Moon. She has written for The New York Times Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Harper’s Magazine, and NPR’s All Things Considered. Her short stories have won an Edgar Award and an O. Henry Award. She teaches at the University of California, Riverside.
Praise for Take One Candle Light a Room
“From National Book Award finalist Straight, a searing, ultimately redemptive novel about America’s legacy of racial violence and a woman’s struggle to forge her own identity….Deeply rooted in the African-American experience, yet filled with insights that resonate for anyone seeking to make a better life without disowning the past. Straight writes about the thorny subject of race with sensitivity and nuance.” —Kirkus (starred)
“In luscious prose, author Straight expertly captures the complexities of Fantine’s identity.” —Booklist
“A vivid portrait of a mixed-race family, proud yet haunted by the vagaries of the past, and of a woman and a boy trying to bridge two worlds. This is also a novel about the importance of words. Straight beautifully blends the rhythmic cadence of the Creole patois with the down-and-dirty slang of the street. With its compelling story, menacing atmosphere, and exquisite use of language, this book has something to intrigue most readers.” —Library Journal