Brass Ankle Blues

by Rachel M. Harper

Book Overview

"When I was seven I told my father that I wanted to grow up to be invisible."

As a young woman of mixed race, Nellie Kincaid is about to encounter the strange, unsettling summer of her fifteenth year. Reeling from the recent separation of her parents, Nellie finds herself traveling to the family's lake house with only her father and her estranged cousin, leaving behind the life and the mother she is trying to forget.

As the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743296583
• ISBN13: 9780743296588
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Touchstone Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

(RAW Rating: 4.5) - Connecting With Oneself

Coming of age while facing the problems of others can cause quite the conundrum. Are you to focus on your own growth and development or put self to the wayside and turn your attention to the problems in your family? Is it feasible to do both? Nellie Kincaid deals with this in Rachel Harper's BRASS ANKLE BLUES, and the result is a spectacularly engrossing work of literature. Fifteen-year old Nellie Kincaid enters the awkward phases of womanhood while encountering familial breakdowns. She embarks on a summer trip in Minnesota with her black father and white cousin, whom she had met only once before. Surrounded by the familiar setting of her childhood summers, Nellie faces questions of loyalty, love, and the ties that bind. My first time reading Harper's work was memorable. While most of the main characters were under the age of eighteen, the author was able to present them in a way that made them timeless, ageless, and, most notably, extraordinarily human. The story went so much deeper than just the run-of-the-mill tragic mulatto tale. While there were a few major dramatic events, BRASS ANKLE BLUES was a more character and relationship centered novel, and Harper aptly crafted them. I would love to read more about these characters, but will read Harper's next offering whether or not they are included. I read on her web site that she is considering adapting BRASS ANKLE BLUES into a screenplay. If the movie ever hits a screen, I'll be the first in line. Reviewed by CandaceK of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Marvelous writing!

What a wonderful novel! Here is a fresh and exciting voice in coming-of-age fiction. Harper's earthy and sensual descriptions of landscape and memory make her story sing; reading about the Minnesota lakes made me yearn to plan a trip there. All of the characters are interesting and memorable, but the main character, Nellie, is the perfect travel companion. This novel about an American woman's journey takes the reader on a magical tour of adolescence and the development of consciousness. Nellie is seeking nothing less than her own soul. Her desire to be an adult, a person with autonomy and spirit, is clear from the very first chapter, but her discoveries along the way, including some vividly detailed encounters with memorable characters, make this a reader's dream as well. I was sorry when the novel ended. Let's hope Harper writes a sequel! Or anything else!

Brass Ankle Blues

I just finished reading "brass ankle blues" from new writer, Rachel Harper. The endorsement by Ernest J. Gaines, author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, was certainly warranted. The novel is portrayed through the eyes of a mixed race, teenage girl. Before I knew it, I was caught up in her encounters, while traveling by car, from Massachusetts to Minnesota. Rachel Harper provides valuable insight into the dilemmas' faced by a mixed race girl, in a serious, informative, and readable way. I hope she writes a sequel. I will be waiting!

Harper's talent shines

rachel harper's first novel, Brass Ankle Blues had me captivated from the first page to the last (a feat in and of itself, as i tend to get bored easily with weak stories, or inefficient writing). Everytime i felt that i had wrapped my head around a central theme or an intended connection, a new layer emerged for me to contemplate all while being THOROUGHLY entertained by the story. She seems to be able to write a NOVEL, a wonderful STORY, with awe-inspiring ease. Thereby, allowing her characters to actually walk around in my head during each break i take in reading. Yet, at the same time she is asking powerful and suggestive questions to the reader and of HERSELF throughout this thoughtful subject matter. It is seamless the way these efforts entwine themselves. I am impressed and inspired by Harper's talent and focus. Her ability to SHOW and not tell is only enhanced by her ability to understand what people and family are truly all about. i cannot think of a single person i know who i think would NOT enjoy this book.