The Darkest Child
The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips is a Special Edition published by Soho Press on January 30, 2018. This edition features an introduction by Tayari Jones, an excerpt from a never-before-seen follow-up, and a discussion guide. Set in Pakersfield, Georgia, in 1958, the narrative follows thirteen-year-old Tangy Mae Quinn, the sixth of ten siblings, as she navigates her challenging family dynamics and societal expectations.
Readers will find a poignant exploration of Tangy Mae’s struggle against her mother’s oppressive control and the societal perceptions of beauty and worth. As the darkest-skinned child in her family, Tangy Mae grapples with her identity and the violent hold her mother, Rozelle, has over her life. With the opportunity to join the first integrated class at a nearby white high school, Tangy Mae faces the daunting challenge of breaking free from her mother’s grasp while confronting the potential dangers that come with such a decision. This edition, comprising 432 pages, delves into themes of family, identity, and the quest for self-empowerment within a historical context.
Official synopsis Publisher
A new edition of this award-winning modern classic, with an introduction by Tayari Jones (An American Marriage), an excerpt from the never before seen follow-up, and discussion guide.
Pakersfield, Georgia, 1958: Thirteen-year-old Tangy Mae Quinn is the sixth of ten fatherless siblings. She is the darkest-skinned among them and therefore the ugliest in her mother, Rozelle’s, estimation, but she’s also the brightest. Rozelle—beautiful, charismatic, and light-skinned—exercises a violent hold over her children. Fearing abandonment, she pulls them from school at the age of twelve and sends them to earn their keep for the household, whether in domestic service, in the fields, or at “the farmhouse” on the edge of town, where Rozelle beds local men for money.
But Tangy Mae has been selected to be part of the first integrated class at a nearby white high school. She has a chance to change her life, but can she break from Rozelle’s grasp without ruinous—even fatal—consequences?
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