From Publishers Weekly
West Indian writer douard Glissant addresses the turbulent, often tragic history of Martinique in The Fourth Century (trans. from the French by Betsy Wing). Seer and storyteller Papa Longou‚ relays to young Mathieu B‚luse the story of their families, whose rival ancestors were brought to the island as slaves. From the first pages, describing the atrocities endured aboard the slave ships, this is a fascinating, harrowing historical epic told in rich, unflinching prose. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Originally published in 1964, this award-winning novel by a noted Caribbean author explores the history, culture, and myth of his native Martinique. In the mid-1940s, ancient medicine man Papa Longoue, the last of his family line, traces the history of the Longoues and Beluzes to young Mathieu Beluze, the youngest of his line. Even as they were delivered to the island by slave ship in 1789, Longoue and Beluze hated each other. Yet despite the different paths of their lives--Beluze as a plantation slave and Longoue, who escapes to the wild, as a maroon--their families become intertwined through friendship, marriage, even murder. Glissant is a poet as well, and his prose often borders on poetry, with long passages virtually devoid of capitalization and punctuation. The tale, while generally chronologically true, sometimes leaps ahead or doubles back; Mathieu complains to Papa, "Can't you announce the dates one after the other and quit spinning around back and forth?" Still, the result is a richly textured novel with vivid images. Michele Leber
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The Fourth Century tells of the quest by young Mathieu Béluse to discover the lost history of his country, Martinique. Aware that the officially recorded version he learned in school omits and distorts, he turns to a quimboiseur named Papa Longoué. This old man of the forest, a healer, seer, and storyteller, knows the oral tradition and its relation to the powers of the land and the forces of nature. He tells of the love-hate relationship between the Longoué and Béluse families, whose ancestors were brought as slaves to Martinique. Upon arrival, Longoué immediately escaped and went to live in the hills as a maroon. Béluse remained in slavery. The intense relationship that had formed between the two men in Africa continued and came to encompass the relations between their masters, or, in the case of Longoué, his would-be master, and their descendants. The Fourth Century closes the gap between the families as Papa Longoué, last of his line, conveys the history to Mathieu Béluse, who becomes his heir.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

West Indian writer douard Glissant addresses the turbulent, often tragic history of Martinique in The Fourth Century (trans. from the French by Betsy Wing). Seer and storyteller Papa Longou relays to young Mathieu B luse the story of their families, whose rival ancestors were brought to the island as slaves. From the first pages, describing the atrocities endured aboard the slave ships, this is a fascinating, harrowing historical epic told in rich, unflinching prose. ( Apr. 23) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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