Madison Smartt Bell

With clarity, verve, and the sure instincts of a good teacher, Madison Smartt Bell offers a roll-up-your-sleeves approach to writing in this much-needed book.

Working with Imagination, Craft, and Form

Narrative Design

The first and definitive biography of one of the great American novelists of the postwar era, author of Dog Soldiers and A Flag for Sunrise, and a penetrating critic of American power, innocence, and corruption Robert Stone (1937-2015), probably the only postwar American writer to draw favorable comparisons to Ernest Hemingway, Graham Greene and Joseph Conrad, lived a life rich in adventure, achievement, and inner turmoil. He grew up rough on the streets of New York, the son of a mentally troubled single mother. After his Navy service in the fifties, which brought him to such locales as pre-Castro Havana, the Suez Crisis, and Antarctica, he studied writing at Stanford, where he met Ken Kesey and became a core member of the gang of Merry Pranksters. The publication of his superb New Orleans novel Hall of Mirrors (1967) initiated a succession of dark-humored novels that investigated the American experience in Vietnam (Dog Soldiers, 1974, which won the National Book Award), Central America (A Flag for Sunrise, 1981), and Jerusalem on the eve of the millennium (Damascus Gate, 1998). An acclaimed novelist himself, Madison Smartt Bell was a close friend and longtime admirer of Robert Stone. His fully authorized and deeply researched biography is both intimate and objective, a rich and unsparing portrait of a complicated, charismatic, and haunted man, and a sympathetic reading of his work that will help to secure Stone's place in the pantheon of major American writers.

A Biography of Robert Stone

Child of Light

"A serious historical novel that reads like a dream." --The Washington Post Book World "One of the most spohisticated fictional treatments of the enduring themes of class, color, and freedom." --San Francisco Chronicle NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST PEN/FAULKNER AWARD FINALIST This first installment of the epic Haitian trilogy brings to life a decisive moment in the history of race, class, and colonialism. The slave uprising in Haiti was a momentous contribution to the tide of revolution that swept over the Western world at the end of the 1700s. A brutal rebellion that strove to overturn a vicious system of slavery, the uprising successfully transformed Haiti from a European colony to the world’s first Black republic. From the center of this horrific maelstrom, the heroic figure of Toussaint Louverture–a loyal, literate slave and both a devout Catholic and Vodouisant–emerges as the man who will take the merciless fires of violence and vengeance and forge a revolutionary war fueled by liberty and equality. Bell assembles a kaleidoscopic portrait of this seminal movement through a tableau of characters that encompass black, white, male, female, rich, poor, free and enslaved. Pulsing with brilliant detail, All Soul’s Rising provides a visceral sense of the pain, terror, confusion, and triumph of revolution.

All Souls' Rising

Robert Stone

Selected Nonfiction

Eye You See With

Devil's dream

A Novel of Haiti (1)

Adrian Strother, an insomniac hypnotist, becomes involved with an unsavory drug trafficker and his henchman, while trying to save his faltering love life

Doctor Sleep

Her mental health destabilized by headline-making violence from the Manson murders to the September 11 attacks, Vegas blackjack dealer Mae endures an obsessive existence for which she wanders the desert with a rifle and is overwhelmed by memories of childhood abuse, her stint in a famous cult and the loss of a lover. Original. 25,000 first printing.

The Color of Night

At the end of the 1700s, French Saint Domingue was the richest and most brutal colony in the Western Hemisphere. A mere twelve years later, however, Haitian rebels had defeated the Spanish, British, and French and declared independence after the first—and only—successful slave revolt in history. Much of the success of the revolution must be credited to one man, Toussaint Louverture, a figure about whom surprisingly little is known. In this fascinating biography, Madison Smartt Bell, award-winning author of a trilogy of novels that investigate Haiti’s history, combines a novelist’s passion with a deep knowledge of the historical milieu that produced the man labeled a saint, a martyr, or a clever opportunist who instigated one of the most violent events in modern history. The first biography in English in over sixty years of the man who led the Haitian Revolution, this is an engaging reexamination of the controversial, paradoxical leader. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Toussaint Louverture

From the National Book Award–finalist: This “brilliant” story collection exploring the lives of dispossessed Americans is “one of his best achievements” (The Washington Post). Thematically focused on hard-luck characters trapped by desperate circumstances, Bell once again showcases his range and versatility in these eleven deeply felt stories. Whether in the Deep South or the grim Northeast; burdened with unspoken hurts or challenged by the harsh vicissitudes of contemporary life, Bell’s characters are drawn with clear-eyed compassion and dignity. But even in their gritty realism, moments of redemption or hopefulness elevate each of these memorable stories. And when the setting moves into the Great Plains during the nineteenth century, Bell convincingly connects the past to the present, hinting at his later acclaim as a historical novelist. Zero db stands as a timeless collection of “sagacious and lucid short stories by a contemporary writer with an ear for the seemingly inaudible emotions of life” (Los Angeles Times).

And Other Stories

Zero db

Laidlaw has returned to Tennessee to find his old boyhood friend Redmon in a battle for the literal salvation of another human who is blacker than Laidlaw, whiter than Redmon.

Soldier's Joy

Aunque el nacimiento de una nueva ciencia siempre constituya un hito histórico, no es frecuente que una revolución científica tenga como telón de fondo una revolución política. El destino quiso que Antoine Lavoisier fuese exponente de ambos acontecimientos: un genuino representante del Siglo de las Luces, que vio su vida segada por el Régimen del Terror. Gracias a sus prodigiosas dotes intelectuales, a la fortuna que amasó con sus propios esfuerzos y a la colaboración de su inteligente esposa, Lavoisier ocupó un lugar prominente en el panorama científico de finales del siglo XVIII. Desde esa posición privilegiada tomó parte en la disputa por descubrir los procesos químicos que tenían lugar durante la combustión. Bajo la atenta mirada de la comunidad científica internacional, Lavoisier y su principal rival, el inglés Joseph Priestley, descubrieron el oxígeno por separado. Pero fue Lavoisier quien, mediante su teoría de las reacciones químicas, basada en novedosos experimentos realizados con la más avanzada tecnología instrumental, acabó con los últimos vestigios de la alquimia medieval y señaló el comienzo de la química moderna. El tratado donde formuló la nueva ciencia salió publicado apenas cuatro meses antes de la toma de la Bastilla. “Madison Smartt Bell, un estupendo y polifacético novelista, nos demuestra su talento narrativo y su versatilidad en este magistral relato de un descubrimiento científico: la verdadera historia de cómo Antoine Lavoisier marcó el rumbo de la química moderna... y perdió la vida a manos del terror jacobino”. -Roald Hoffman, Premio Nobel de química, poeta y escritor

El nacimiento de una nueva ciencia en la era de las revoluciones

Lavoisier en el año uno de la Revolución (eBook)

Continues the saga of Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the successful Haitian slave revolt, as he struggles to free Haiti from the bonds of slavery and to build a new society on the roots of revolution.

The Stone That the Builder Refused

A “brave, accomplished and utterly compelling” short story collection from the National Book Award–finalist author of Zig Zag Wanderer (Kirkus Reviews). Deploying a seemingly unlimited range of subject and setting, Bell’s latest collection of stories are as inventive as they are revelatory. From a monastic Chinese mouse who ponders his lot in life to the aching frustrations of a former drug addict attempting to connect to her son, Bell continues to refine his renowned craft on the characters who fall under his compassionate gaze. Drawn by Bell’s command of language and voice, readers follow his cast of characters from Manhattan to the French Riviera to the American South to London, where the homeless, the barking mad, and the everyday saints are all revealed as unforgettably human in these sometimes poignant, sometimes devastating stories. “The world these 10 stories conjure is a shifty, dangerous place, requiring of its inhabitants small acts of daily heroism. . . .A humane and mature book, the work of an important and talented writer.” —The New York Times Book Review “Presents a crystal-clear vision of humanity that disturbs and intrigues.” —Library Journal

Barking Man

The National Book Award–finalist movingly examines the lives of a group of New Yorkers deeply affected by one woman’s troubled life—and death. Marian is haunted by an unspoken past reflected in the choices she makes. Whether it’s her drug addiction or her dubious affairs, she finds herself increasingly adrift and alone. Yet in a city of millions, her story plays a part in the lives of others. Jaded cops who register Marian at a glance, a lover who agonizes over her abortion, a close friend stunned by her tragic overdose, a panhandling dwarf making the rounds in her Upper West Side neighborhood—each story weaves back and forth through time, revealing a compelling, compassionate portrait of one woman’s tragic fate. In a novel whose “structure combines delicacy and great tensile strength . . . Bell’s voice is increasingly diverse, accurate and, in this book of mourning, powerfully moving” (Publishers Weekly). One of America’s finest storytellers shows once again that he is a writer of “superb command” (The New York Times).

The Year of Silence

A Vietnam vet returns to rural Tennessee in this acclaimed novel from the National Book Award–nominated author of Save Me, Joe Louis. After the horrors of Vietnam, Thomas Laidlaw returns to his home in rural Tennessee where he spends his days raising sheep and growing vegetables. At night he likes to roam the quiet countryside and practice his banjo, revelling in the roots music he finds so grounding. Over time, he resumes his friendship with Rodney Redmon, a fellow vet and childhood friend scarred not only by the wages of war, but also by the deep wounds of racism. As the two friends piece together a new life as civilians, they also piece together a band with the addition of a fiddler. Through a masterful accumulation of details, Bell brings his story to a fever pitch, concluding in “an unexpected, if powerful, finale” (Publishers Weekly). “This important, insightful novel” (Library Journal) proves once again that “every sentence [Bell] writes is a joy. His power is exhilarating” (The New Yorker). “Bell’s impressive talents as a writer, which include endowing settings with the significance of character, and a patient, compassionate probing of injured souls, are on full display.” —Publishers Weekly

A fictional tale of infamous Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest imagines elements from his personal life, from his gambling addiction and courtship of his wife to his abhorrence of military bureaucracy and relatively humane treatment of his slaves.

Devil's Dream

With a writer’s keen eye, a longtime resident’s familiarity, and his own sly wit, acclaimed novelist Madison Smartt Bell leads us on a walk through his adopted hometown of Baltimore, a city where crab cakes, Edgar Allan Poe, hair extensions, and John Waters movies somehow coexist. From its founding before the Revolutionary War to its place in popular culture—thanks to seminal films like Barry Levinson’s Diner, the television show Homicide, and bestselling books by George Pelecanos and Laura Lippman—Baltimore is America, and in Charm City, Bell brings its story to vivid life. First revealing how Baltimore received some of its nicknames—including “Charm City”—Bell sets off from his neighborhood of Cedarcroft and finds his way across the city’s crossroads, joined periodically by a host of fellow Baltimoreans. Exploring Baltimore’s prominent role in history (it was here that Washington planned the battle of Yorktown and Francis Scott Key witnessed the “bombs bursting in air”), Bell takes us to such notable spots as the Inner Harbor and Federal Hill, as well as many of the undiscovered corners that give Baltimore its distinctive character. All the while, Charm City sheds deserved light onto a sometimes overlooked, occasionally eccentric, but always charming place.

A Walk Through Baltimore

Charm City

Two small-time thieves get in over their heads in this literary thriller from the “virtuoso novelist” and author of Soldier’s Joy (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Not quite at home in the backwoods of Tennessee, and even less suited for the service, drifter Macrae lands on his feet in New York City in the 1980s. There, he teams up with a petty thief named Charlie, and the two hit on a scheme to rob people withdrawing money at ATMs. Caught up by their surprising success, they move on to bigger crimes. But as Macrae feels a growing discomfort with the increasing violence and danger of their hardscrabble existence, he wonders if he’s in too deep to make a clean break. With a tightly orchestrated and harrowing conclusion from “one of our most talented novelists . . . This meticulously observed story nevertheless grips us with its lucid prose, its keen psychological insights and the author’s respect for his troubled characters” (Publishers Weekly). “A remarkable read.” —The New York Times Book Review “Bell seems to know intimately the seedy sides of New York, Baltimore and the ex-urban south of housing developments and shopping centers abutting old, dying farms. He renders each locale exquisitely and seems as familiar with street jive as redneck vernacular.” —Los Angeles Times “Ripe for translation to the silver screen.” —Library Journal

Madison Smartt Bell

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