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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The son of a black man and a white woman, the down-and-out narrator of Hill's substantial, historically inflected novel, struggles to determine his identity in racially polarized Canada and within his own well-educated, upwardly mobile family. At 39, Langston Cane V is divorced, childless, uprooted, and a failed writer. Prompted by an elderly mentor to write about his forebear's illustrious past, Langston decides to investigate the family lore that claims the first Langston Cane died fighting alongside John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859. His research takes him to Baltimore, where half the family lives?among them his tough-talking, corpulent Aunt Milly, who's kept her distance from Langston's side of the Cane clan since Langston's parents' marriage. As he pieces together the puzzle of the past through Milly's stories, diary entries, newspaper clippings, letters and ephemera, Langston's own life appears in sharper focus. His Virgil in urban education is Yoyo, an entrepreneuring Cameroonian illegal immigrant. Langston survives a drive-by shooting, experiences a sexual rejuvenation with a young woman from Milly's church and discovers an old scandal involving his aunt. Hill's (Some Great Thing) generous spirit expands over a wide and variegated landscape of human relations; he forgives oppression and reconciles himself to history with surprising equanimity. His straightforward, good-humored prose, however, seems too deferent to the richness of the story being told. A touch of lyricism would limber up this lengthy work. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"[Any Known Blood] may do for black Canadians what Mordecai Richler did for Montreal Jews." -Val Ross --The Globe and Mail
"[An] outstanding second novel. Hill's narrative is consistently compelling and readable and his characters are wonderfully drawn." --Quill & Quire
"Deliciously erotic scenes celebrate the passion and playfulness of emotionally intimate bonds." -Donna Bailey Nurse --The Globe and Mail
"[An] outstanding second novel. Hill's narrative is consistently compelling and readable and his characters are wonderfully drawn." --Quill & Quire
"Deliciously erotic scenes celebrate the passion and playfulness of emotionally intimate bonds." -Donna Bailey Nurse --The Globe and Mail
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Most helpful customer reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
All in the family,
By Friederike Knabe "“We write to taste life twi... (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Any Known Blood (Paperback)
"Any Known Blood" is the story of Langston Cane V and his journey of discovery through five generations of an African American Canadian family living since the 1850s in either the US and Canada. Lawrence Hill's own background provided the inspiration and depth for this multilayered family saga that he weaves like a rich tapestry of characters, places and events. The language is personal and direct, the protagonist's account of his quest interlaced with excerpts from his forebears' diaries or letters and enriched with lively and witty dialog.Hill's narrator, Langston, recently divorced and having just lost his job, is unsure who he is. He can no longer pretend that his black-white racial heritage is of little importance to him. He begins hoping that reconnecting with his past might provide some answers his search for identity. The story moves fluidly between Langston's present life that includes some minor dramas and discoveries about the previous four Langstons. His father, who had defied the Cane family tradition by marrying a white Canadian woman, is a major public figure and anti-racist activist, as well as a medical doctor in his hometown, Oakville, Ontario. Oakville was once the end of the Underground Railroad that enabled many, such as Langston I, to escape slavery in the USA. Langston the Fourth is a great story teller who has been imparting family legends of each generation of Canes, one story at the time. Seeking out the missing elements in the father's accounts of the past, Langston moves temporarily to Baltimore, where his aunt, Millicent, estranged from her family for many years, has much to contribute to his search - if she is willing to talk to him at all. "Mill" is quite a character and wonderfully contradictory. She is torn between her love for family and growing affection for the nephew and her rejection of inter-racial marriages and their offspring. Langston is introduced to much of daily life by his new friend, Yoyo, a refugee from Cameroon. The description of Baltimore locales and its people is vibrant and entertaining, Langston's encounters with Mill are quite hilarious. Recording the findings of his family research, Langston embarks on writing the novel. Historical events, such as the attempted take-over of Harpers Ferry by John Brown, are integrated with ease into the story, as are historical figures like Brown himself and Frederick Douglass, known for their different approaches to abolition. His description of the actual Ku-Klux-Klan attack in Ontario at the time of Langston's grandfather is hauntingly realistic. Details are as factual as possible with Hill clarifying any fictional adaptations he made for the benefit of his novel. "Any Known Blood" is a beautifully crafted and engaging novel that brings many voices to life, fictionalized and real, set against the backdrop of factual events that shaped African American as well as Canadian history. [Friederike Knabe]
3.0 out of 5 stars
any known blood,
By
This review is from: Any Known Blood (Paperback)
really not as good as his first book.an okay read. i felt there was not enough depth but i did finish it.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic !,
By muriel803 "muriel" (toronto, canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Any Known Blood (Paperback)
This is a fantastic book. Very engrossing. He manages to bring all the characters to life. I have enjoyed all his books, and have bought extra copies to give to friends.
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