Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo: A Novel

"Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo" by Ntozake Shange weaves together the varied experiences of three sisters and their mother as it moves through the past, present, and future of not only their lives, but the lives of mystical and real African-American woman who came before and will come after them. Shange, famous for her choreopoem, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf," which grew from her own suicide attempts, again explores the way African-American women are as diverse in personalities and emotions as the colors of the rainbow while showing the beauty and hardships that come from being a woman. Shange proves herself to be a beautiful storyteller as well as one willing to experiment with writing forms, mixing prose with poetry, music, and dance. Using just her words, Shange shows emotions through detailed descriptions of moves that allow the characters in her book to dance out of the pages. Shange’s book reads as a celebration of the accomplishments made by the Black Arts Movement, with its realization that the expressions of joy and sorrow would be inadequately portrayed with prose alone. Readers need to hear the music and poetry and see the characters’ movements in their minds in order to truly understand the characters, and, by extension, humanity in general. Shange never allows her book to drift away from its focus on women. Relationships are often destructive to the women. In one scene that seems to call back to the rape discussion in "For Colored Girls" in which the lady in blue says rape is often “bein betrayed by men who know us,” Sassafrass berates men who are speaking disrespectfully about women, telling them, “don’t you ever sit in my house and ask me to celebrate my inherited right to be raped.” Critics of Shange have said that she turned on her own race with her descriptions of violence done to African-American women by African-American men. By not focusing on stories of white man’s violence against African-American women, however, Shange keeps her focus on the widespread violence and disregard of women rather than allowing her stories to drift into debates about the status of race relations. Shange also expertly shows the internal battles women fight to be independent in a society that expects women to give themselves completely to men. Shange herself said she pictured Cypress when writing "For Colored Girls," which helps show why many of the ideas expressed in "For Colored Girls," such as the lady in green’s lamenting of a man who “almost walked off wid all my stuff,” meaning her personality and dreams, arise in "Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo."

Great book. Really wonderful!!!!!!! Stunning and graphic in all the right ways. I wanted more. Looking forward to more from this author.

I absolutely love the author! Watching her plays have been everything. This book... took me a while to get through to be honest. Her writing style is unique. I’d order another Shange book though. I still love her!

I originally purchased this book after seeing the movie for colored girls. I had criticized the movie without reading the play and I wanted to see what exactly the author's writing style was like. I enjoyed the way the chapters are set up jumping from Sassafrass to Cypress to Indigo once I was consumed in one story the next chapter moved on to another sister or a little from their mother. Another reviewer had said the story line isn't nail biting but the books presentation definitely keeps you from getting bored. I want to read the book again to see what I missed the first time I read it. The book is heart-warming story of a group of women who unconditionally love one another.

A great read!! This book tells the lives of 3 southern sisters trying to create a free life during the black arts movement. Each sister has her own story and through trial and error they create a living and are there for one another. This book shows the power and beauty of back women and what it means to find yourself and live free. The girls teach us to follow our passions and to believe in our own truth despite what others may think. Life may not turn out the way you imagined but that does not mean you have failed. Through it all you family will always be there. Love love love the book. I recommend this book as one every black woman should read. This book deserves all five stars. This is a short read that will inspire you to live life fuller.

This is the story of three African American sisters and their mother as they take divergent paths in the 1960s-70s timeframe. From Charleston, Sassafrass goes to college and then heads to Los Angeles where she is a weaver and poet, struggling to find a voice separate from the man in her life. Her sister Cypress is a dancer and crosses paths with her elder sister, pulling her away from her routine and into her more frenetic world. Indigo lives at home with her mother and her story contains a good deal of magical realism. While I was intrigued by Indigo and the start of the book, I failed to connect with the remainder of the book.

I read this book 45 years ago - and it has remained in my heart exotically until finding it again- and now reading it more relevant to our current times than ever …written for black women and I am white and it’s still changing my life for the better - fusion of magic & practicality

im at a lost for words. This is one of thee best books I have ever read and I read a lot. Her writing style is very visual most off the time I felt like I was right there going through it to. This book is definitely for those with a s connected spirt and a sense of roots.

The mix of reverence for art, real reflection on the bones of healing from systemic dehumanisation, a mysticism that touches surrealism but sinks back into an embodied experience through the nuts and bolts of the 3 sisters lives all come together to make this book an act of elevation in of itself.

My mom had a copy of this book and I enjoyed reading it. Had to get a copy of my own and of course I wanted one with the exact same cover as mom's :) Book was in perfect condition. I was a bit wary of getting a used book, but this one was great. no markings, scribblings, dog eared pages etc. Binding intact too.