Glory Field

Paperback, 1994

Status

Available

Call number

900

Genres

Young Adult

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Scholastic (1994), Mass Market Paperback

Description

Follows a family's two hundred forty-one year history, from the capture of an African boy in the 1750s through the lives of his descendants, as their dreams and circumstances lead them away from and back to the small plot of land in South Carolina that they call the Glory Field.

User reviews

LibraryThing member northandsouth

An instant classic. Although it is long, this multi-generation story brings the reader to a different time and place. A highly satisfying read when you are done with it.

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LibraryThing member vaillance

Although The Glory Field is grand in scope, spanning many generations of the Lewis family, each segment of the story is filled with the thoughts and dreams of the brave individuals who acted on their aspirations, and a saga of the African American experience is brought to life by the precise and

evocative language of Walter Dean Myers.

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LibraryThing member wearylibrarian

This book follows the Lewis family through many generations. Beginning with Muhammad Bilal, who was captured and brought to America on a slave ship, to family members who now live in Harlem in 1994. Some of the family has traveled far from the plantation while others still live and farm the land,

but all are proud of the ancestors that came before them.

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LibraryThing member ALelliott

This powerful novel tells the story of the Lewis family through six generations. It begins with Muhammad Bilal's journey from Africa in the belly of a slave ship, then progresses through stories set during the Civil War, the Great Depression, the Civil Rights movement, all the way to 1990's Harlem.

Throughout, the Lewis's own a very special plot of land that they call The Glory Field. It is a reminder of everything they and their ancestors have been through. Told in short vignettes, we only see glimpses of each of the characters' lives, but it is enough to illustrate their strength and love of their family.

Each section of the novel has a lot of action, and is historically accurate. The white characters aren't demonized (except for maybe the slave drivers in the first section), but they do portray accurately the attitudes and prejudices of the day, and each is subtly different. This novel is chock full of potential discussions about everything from racism to family life to freedom. Some students may be frightened or dismayed by the violence in some sections of the novel, but it is never gratuitous, and shows them how violence was and is a fact of life for many people of color during various parts of history.

For ages 10 and up.

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LibraryThing member rgruberexcel

RGG: A YA version of Roots. Well-written. Important perspective for students.

LibraryThing member DonnaMarieMerritt

Published in 1994, but still relevant today. It begins in 1753 in Africa with the capture of 11-year-old Muhammad, who is sent to America as a slave. It follows his family's story, jumping in time from a plantation on Curry Island in SC in 1864 to various places and years, ending with that same

piece of land and family in 1994. Inspirational novel, but sad to think that even now, hundreds of years later, the color of your skin makes a difference in how you're treated.

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