Gabriel's Story
Encyclopedia
Gabriel's Story is an award-winning 2001 novel by American author David Anthony Durham
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's All the Pretty Horses
, views the American West through an original lens. Set in the 1870s, the novel tells the tale of Gabriel Lynch, an African American youth who settles with his family in the plains of Kansas. Dissatisfied with the drudgery of homesteading and growing increasingly disconnected from his family, Gabriel forsakes the farm for a life of higher adventure. Thus begins a forbidding trek into a terrain of austere beauty, a journey begun in hope, but soon laced with danger and propelled by a cast of brutal characters. By writing about African American characters, Durham gave voice to a population seldom included in our Western lore.
David Anthony Durham
David Anthony Durham is an American novelist, author of historical fiction and fantasy.Durham's first novel, Gabriel's Story, centered on African American settlers in the American West. Walk Through Darkness followed a runaway slave during the tense times leading up to the American Civil War...
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Publication details
- Written by David Anthony DurhamDavid Anthony DurhamDavid Anthony Durham is an American novelist, author of historical fiction and fantasy.Durham's first novel, Gabriel's Story, centered on African American settlers in the American West. Walk Through Darkness followed a runaway slave during the tense times leading up to the American Civil War...
- First published: Doubleday, United States, 2001.
Plot summary
David Anthony Durham made his literary debut with a haunting novel which, in the tradition of Cormac McCarthyCormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy is an American novelist and playwright. He has written ten novels, spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and modernist genres. He received the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction for The Road...
's All the Pretty Horses
All the Pretty Horses
All the Pretty Horses is a novel by U.S. author Cormac McCarthy published in 1992. Its romanticism brought the writer much public attention. The novel was a bestseller and won the U.S. National Book Award as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award...
, views the American West through an original lens. Set in the 1870s, the novel tells the tale of Gabriel Lynch, an African American youth who settles with his family in the plains of Kansas. Dissatisfied with the drudgery of homesteading and growing increasingly disconnected from his family, Gabriel forsakes the farm for a life of higher adventure. Thus begins a forbidding trek into a terrain of austere beauty, a journey begun in hope, but soon laced with danger and propelled by a cast of brutal characters. By writing about African American characters, Durham gave voice to a population seldom included in our Western lore.
Awards and honors
- Legacy Award for Debut Fiction from the Hurston/Wright Foundation
- 2002 Alex Award from the American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
- 2001 First Novel Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association
- New York Times Notable Book
- Los Angeles Times and Publisher’s Weekly Best of 2001 pick
- Booklist Editor’s Choice
- Book club pick for The Washington Post and The Kansas City Star.
- For reviews see: USA Today (Jan 18th, 2001), San Francisco Chronicle (Jan 28th, 2001), Time Magazine (Feb 12th, 2001), The New York Times Book Review (Feb 25th, 2001), and “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio (Mar, 2001).
- Gabriel’s Story has been optioned by Uberto Pasolini (producer of The Full MontyThe Full MontyThe Full Monty is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber, and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy...
) and is in development for a feature film with Alan TaylorAlan Taylor (director)Alan Taylor is an American television and film director, television producer, and screenwriter. Taylor has directed for numerous programs on both network television and premium cable, most notably on HBO...
to direct (PalookavillePalookavillePalookaville may refer to:* Palookaville , a 1995 comedy film* Palookaville , a 2004 electronic album by Fatboy Slim* Palookaville , an alternative comic book* Palookaville, a former concert venue in Santa Cruz, CA....
, The Emperor’s New Clothes).