The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana

- Reviews -

"What an astounding novel. Never have I read anything so wild and loving, so tender and ruthless. Conde is one of our greatest writers, a literary sorcerer but here she has outdone even herself, summoned a storm from out of the world' s troubled heart. Ivan and Ivana, in their love, in their Attic fates, mirror our species' terrible brokenness and it' s improbable grace. " --JUNOT DIAZ/p>"The breadth, depth, and power of Maryse Conde' s majestic work is exceptionally remarkable. The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana is a superb addition to this incomparable oeuvre, and is one of Conde' s most timely, virtuoso, and breathtaking novels. " --EDWIDGE DANTICAT"Brilliantly imagined, Maryse Conde' s new novel presents a dual bildungsroman of twins born into poverty in the African diaspora and follows their global travels to its shocking ending. Once again, Conde transmutes contemporary political traumas into a mesmerizing family fable. " --HENRY LOUIS GATES, JR. "Maryse Conde' s prodigious fictional universes are founded on a radical and generative disregard for boundaries based on geography, religion, history, race, and gender. In The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana, the most intimate human relationships acquire meaning only on the scale of the world-historical, and as we follow the twins in their fated journey from the Caribbean to Africa and Europe, we learn about love, happiness, calamity, and, at last, the survival of hope. " --ANGELA Y. DAVIS"Maryse Conde offers us with The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana yet another ambitious, continent-crossing whirlwind of a literary journey. The marvelous siblings at the heart of her tale are inspiring and unsettling in equal measure, richly drawn incarnations of the contemporary postcolonial individual in perpetual geographic and cultural movement. It is a remarkable story from start to finish. " --KAIAMA L. GLOVER"Maryse Conde is a treasure of world literature, writing from the center of the African diaspora with brilliance and a profound understanding of all humanity. " --RUSSELL BANKS"Maryse Conde addresses very contemporary issues in her latest novel: racism, jihadi terrorism, political corruption and violence, economic inequality in Guadeloupe and metropolitan France, globalization and immigration. " --World Literature Today "Conde' s latest novel is a beautiful and dramatic story with its origins in the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Masterly. " -- Afrique Magazine "With this story of a young man from Guadeloupe who finds himself persuaded by the pull of jihad, Conde has written one of her most impressive novels to date, one that seamlessly resonates with the problems of our time. " -- Le Monde "Maryse Conde is the grande dame of Caribbean literature. " -- NCRV Gids "The new novel, written in an almost exuberant style, contains many typical Conde elements, in particular the mix of a small family story and the great history, and the nuances of existing images. " -- De VolkskrantPraise for Segu "The most significant novel about black Africa published in many a year. " -- The New York Times Book Review "Conde is a born storyteller. " -- Publishers Weekly "Exotic, richly textured and detailed, this narrative, alternating between the lives of various characters, illuminates magnificently a little known historical period. Virtually every page glitters with nuggets of cultural fascination. " -- Howard Kaplan, Los Angeles Times "A wondrous novel about a period of African history few other writers have addressed. . . . Much of the novel' s radiance comes from the lush description of a traditional life that is both exotic and violent. " -- Charles L. Larson, The New York Times Book Review "With the dazzling storytelling skills of an African griot, Maryse Conde has written a rich, fast-paced saga of a great kingdom during the tumultuous period of the slave trade and the coming of Islam. Segu is history as vivid and immediate as today. It has restored a part of my past that has long been missing. " -- Paule Marshall, author of Daughters "Segu is an overwhelming accomplishment. It injects into the density of history characters who are as alive as you and I. Passionate, lusty, greedy, they are in conflict with themselves as well as with God and Mammon. Maryse Conde has done us all a tremendous service by rendering a history so compelling and exciting. Segu is a literary masterpiece I could not put down. " -- Louise Meriwether "A stunning reaffirmation of Africa and its peoples as set down by others whose works have gone unnoticed. Ms. Conde not only backs them up, but provides new insights as well . . . Segu has its own dynamic. It' s a starburst. " -- John A. Williams "A novel of wide scope, depth and power. Conde proves herself a careful observer of human behavior as she helps the reader to understand and feel the turmoil of a confused continent. She captures a fascinating time in history with its earth spirituality, religious fervor and the violent nature of a people and their growing nation . . . Brims over with intelligence and wit. " -- Anniston Star (Alabama) "Segu, a tale of love and intrigue, is fascinating, for the reader experiences the fervor of those tumultuous times. " -- Chattanooga News-Free Press

- Author Bio -

MARYSE CONDE was born in Guadeloupe in 1937 as the youngest of eight siblings. She earned her MA and PhD in Comparative Literature at Paris-Sorbonne University and went on to have a distinguished academic career, receiving the title of Professor Emerita of French at Columbia University in New York, where she taught and lived for many years. She has also lived in various West African countries, most notably in Mali, where she gained inspiration for her worldwide bestseller Segu, for which she was awarded the African Literature Prize and several other respected French awards. Conde was awarded the 2018 New Academy Prize (or "Alternative Nobel") in Literature for her oeuvre. The Wondrous and Tragic Life of Ivan and Ivana is her latest novel.

- Full Details -

Status:	Active
ISBN-13:	9781642860696
Published:	21 May 2020
Published In:	United Kingdom
Imprint:	World Editions
Publisher:	World Editions
Format:	Trade Paperback
Height:	216mm
Width:	140mm
Pages:	368

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