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Song Yet Sung cover art

Song Yet Sung

Written by: James McBride
Narrated by: Leslie Uggams
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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. 

©2008 James McBride (P)2008 Penguin

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)

What listeners say about Song Yet Sung

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • 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.

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11 people found this helpful

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  • 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

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4 people found this helpful

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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!

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  • 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.

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