Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo: A Novel

by Ntozake Shange

book data

252 ratings, 4.14 average rating, 26 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		37%
4		43%
3		15%
2		1%
1		1%

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published

January 15th 1996 by Picador

binding

Paperback, 240 pages

isbn

0312140916 (isbn13: 9780312140915)

description

Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo is the story of three "colored girls," three sisters and their mama from Charleston, South Carolina: Sassafra...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 316)

all | this edition

Jenny rated it:

(review of isbn 0312699719)

04/24/07

Read in October, 2006

Three sisters grow up in South Carolina during the 1970s. The chapters are interspersed with letters from their mother, recipes, poetry, journal entries, etc. Black power and female power are common themes. Recommended by a fellow librarian.

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Tia rated it:

10/30/07

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: anyone

This book was awesome. Not always what I expected. The book is vibrant with descriptions. I also got a kick out of the letters written by the mother, Hilda Effania. I think many of us know someone like that.

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kg rated it:

08/23/07

bookshelves: contempocasual

Read in November, 2006

recommends it for: black women.

this book is like a literary jambalaya: poetry, prose, recipes, drama. plus, i really like how she explores the different paths three artistic Southern-grown sisters take as they grow up. And sisterhood.

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Real Supergirl rated it:

06/11/07

bookshelves: fiction

"So Cypress learned to see other people as themselves, and not as threats to her person."

This line, and this novel, changed the way I conceptualize relationships. I'm still learning.

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jessica rated it:

04/04/07

This is one of my most favorite books ever. This book transformed me. There's a passage about a flock of wild red birds that is forever stamped in my memory ...

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Tj rated it:

03/08/08

I read this in a class for school. It was a great story of 4 women (a mother and her 3 daughters) and how their lives have been shaped by the effects of racism in America and being women themselves. The writing style is varied and non-traditional, each chapter is for a different character and the writing style changes to match each woman (one is even written as a script). Yes, the story deals exclusively with these women and the ways that struggle against what society wants them to be, but it...more

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Masked rated it:

02/28/08

this book is really uneven. i loved the early parts and especially the parts about the children and their magic, but i think she really belabored the point by the end. i stopped feeling interested in the characters and felt tired and lectured to. i'm smart enough to get it. i like to work a little more than this story asked me to by the end. still, worth a read. and i dislike the last chapters of many books, i'm realizing.

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Antoinette rated it:

06/19/08

This little known book, is a favorite--encompassing black literature, women's literature, and coming of age. It tells the story of three sisters with slightly more attention given to youngest sister.

It provides unique insight into black familial relations, and society.

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1 comment

Rachel rated it:

02/10/08

bookshelves: own-it

I wish we could comission poets to write novels. Shange is a jazz/blues/dance/spoken language influenced poet, and although i didnt think this one had the same intensity as "Liliane" it is enjoyable especially because our author has such a way with words.

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Ploetzly rated it:

(review of isbn 0312699719)

04/03/08

Read in January, 1994

i read this in high school, i loved it! it was such a good bridge from magical child brain to adult beautiful woman juicy brain.! kind of cheesy in some ways, but can't help but love it.

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Jess rated it:

02/03/08

bookshelves: favorites-of-all-times

Southern African-American woman writing at its best! Gullah culture, voodoo, home remedies, and recipes all bound up in a beautiful novel about 3 sisters.

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