Listen free for 30 days
-
Song Yet Sung
- Narrated by: Leslie Uggams
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Song Yet Sung
Buy Now for $39.48
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction, Five-Carat Soul, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a James Brown biography.
In the days before the Civil War, a runaway slave named Liz Spocott breaks free from her captors and escapes into the labyrinthine swamps of Maryland’s eastern shore, setting loose a drama of violence and hope among slave catchers, plantation owners, watermen, runaway slaves, and free blacks. Liz is near death, wracked by disturbing visions of the future, and armed with “the Code,” a fiercely guarded cryptic means of communication for slaves on the run. Liz’s flight and her dreams of tomorrow will thrust all those near her toward a mysterious, redemptive fate.
Filled with rich, true details - much of the story is drawn from historical events - and told in McBride’s signature lyrical style, Song Yet Sung is a story of tragic triumph, violent decisions, and unexpected kindness.
What the critics say
"McBride...can deliver the cauterizing power of anger without the corrosive effects of bitterness.... It just might turn out to be balm for a wound that has so far stubbornly refused to heal." (The New York Times)
"Gripping, affecting, and beautifully paced, Song Yet Sung illuminates, in the most dramatic fashion, a deeply troubled, vastly complicated moment in American history." (O, The Oprah Magazine)
"Powerful...A complex, ever-tightening, increasingly suspenseful web." (The Washington Post Book World)
More from the same
What listeners say about Song Yet Sung
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Roberta
- 2009-11-05
Spellbinding
I couldn't stop listening to this book! Leslie Uggams does such a great job narrating, that I felt I was right there in the story. The music was a good choice also. I was a little disappointed in the way it ended, but all-in-all it is a thoughtful, well written and well read book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- gayle
- 2016-08-31
Redemption
I redeemed myself with the book club girls. I'd recommended a couple of duds. Everyone liked this one! It felt like a spy novel or a thriller. So much insight into the covert, "intelligence" that was going on within the slave community! It was a page turner
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- MiGoodies
- 2015-04-01
"Page turner" or better yet Thought turner lol
Mcbride has done it again, this story is thought provoking & historical with fictional truth involved. This is my second book of his I listened to and I enjoyed it greatly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sidney Dickson
- 2020-10-07
Well done........AGAIN
Mr McBride always gives us stories, not just narrative. His words are so well chosen that in the telling of one story I experienced both the horror of the time & the amazing ability of a group of people to rise above & survive that horror.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-03-19
knowing the dreamer.
Leslie's reading of the story helped your mind see all the characters . The story of the dreamer came to life as she spoke the words " Free at last, free at last thank God almighty I'm free at last." Wanted Liz and Amber to get away together but knew it had to happen the way it did.Enjoyed this book very much.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca lundy
- 2022-02-12
Loved the narration
I loved the narration, Leslie Uggams did a fantastic job! The story was great, it has a great mix of drama and action, the characters were well written. I will listen to this story again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tanya
- 2021-05-10
Very Resourceful
They were prevented from keeping the language of their homeland, kept from reading under the promise of maiming or death, they were beaten, tortured, made to work for no wages and could not enjoy the bounty of this country they built but yet they found a way to outsmart their captors, and in some instances their terrorists! Very Resourceful people then.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- jacky of all trades
- 2021-04-29
Great story-telling all around
Leslie Uggams brings James McBride’s words to life in this mesmerizing tale. I could not stop listening once the story began.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- John E. Rittehouse
- 2020-09-04
Brave advance in story telling
I absolutely admire James McBride having the courage to unravel embarrassing US history, except for rocky outcropping below Cambridge MD the story was right on history and park in the driveway awaiting the end of the chapter excellent!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-12-05
Enjoyed listening on every level
Carries suspense as to what’s going to happen. Takes you to an important time in history with stories of time during slavery. Love the audio version she does a wonderful job with the narration and voices. Great book from a talented author thank you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!