Sugar: A Novel

· Sold by Penguin
4.5
51 reviews
Ebook
240
Pages
Eligible
25% price drop on Apr 13

About this ebook

20th Anniversary Edition—with a New Foreword by Kimberly Elise

A novel by a critically acclaimed voice in contemporary fiction, praised by Ebony for its “unforgettable images, unique characters, and moving story that keeps the pages turning until the end.”

A young prostitute comes to Bigelow, Arkansas, to start over, far from her haunting past. Sugar moves next door to Pearl, who is still grieving for the daughter who was murdered fifteen years before. Over sweet-potato pie, an unlikely friendship begins, transforming both women's lives—and the life of an entire town.

Sugar brings a Southern African-American town vividly to life, with its flowering magnolia trees, lingering scents of jasmine and honeysuckle, and white picket fences that keep strangers out—but ignorance and superstition in. To read this novel is to take a journey through loss and suffering to a place of forgiveness, understanding, and grace.

Ratings and reviews

4.5
51 reviews
Monett Elliott
February 25, 2014
I absolutely loved this book. The descriptions were so vivid that I clearly saw and knew Bigelow, Arkansas in my mind's eye! I'm starting This Bitter Earth right now and I'm sure it will be just as great! Kudos Bernice!
2 people found this review helpful
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Erica Edwards
November 27, 2017
Great, moving story. I often thought that the series "Queen Sugar" was loosely based on this novel. I've read it a long time ago. May need to revisit this one.
2 people found this review helpful
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DT Simmons
January 17, 2016
Quite simply put, this is one of the most amazing books I've ever read.
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About the author

Bernice L. McFadden is the author of several critically acclaimed novels including Praise Song for the Butterflies (longlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction), Sugar, Loving Donovan, Nowhere Is a Place, The Warmest December, Gathering of Waters (a New York Times Editors' Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012), Glorious, and The Book of Harlan (winner of a 2017 American Book Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction). She is a four-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of three awards from the BCALA.

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