Oleander City
by Matt Bondurant
Narrated by Chris Henry Coffey and Julia Atwood
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Pub Date Jun 14 2022 | Archive Date Jul 25 2022
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Description
In the wake of the 1900 Galveston hurricane, three lives converge despite persecution from the Ku Klux Klan, a bare-knuckle boxing match gone wrong, and the recovery efforts of the American Red Cross.
Based on a true story
The hurricane of 1900, America's worst natural disaster, left the island city of Galveston in ruins. Thousands perished, including all ninety-three children at the Sisters of the Incarnate Word orphanage-except six-year-old Hester, who miraculously survived. Oleander City is the tale of this little girl and the volatile collision between the American Red Cross, the Ku Klux Klan, and one of the most famous boxing matches in American history. The bout, organized to raise money for the recovery effort, featured the enigmatic veteran "Chrysanthemum Joe" Choynski, the most successful Jewish boxer in America, and Jack Johnson, a young hometown hero known as "the Galveston Giant." The storied battle forged a bond between the two legendary fighters and put Johnson on the path to become the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
Meanwhile, Clara Barton and the Red Cross minister to the sick and hungry as mounted vigilantes use the chaotic situation to settle old scores. After witnessing a terrible crime, Hester finds sanctuary with the ladies of the Red Cross, in a heartrending convergence of these historic figures.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
"Oleander City bears down on its characters like a category five storm, forcing three lost souls to discover who they truly are. More timely than one would think, this tale of natural catastrophe, racial injustice, and lawlessness ultimately illuminates the humanity that motivates and unites us all. A certifiable page-turner, Oleander City pulls at you with the dark undertow of an America that isn't quite bygone."
-Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan Master's Son
"In Oleander City, Matt Bondurant braids the events of the worst natural disaster in American history with one of the great untold stories of American culture. Only a writer of Bondurant's skill could achieve such complicated braiding. This is history written like a novel, a complicated legacy of human tragedy, race, and class distilled into one hell of a read."
-Wiley Cash, New York Times bestselling author
"Oleander City is the best kind of historical novel. Richly imagined, exquisitely written, this tale of disaster and perseverance is both visceral and urgent…A knockout."
-M. O. Walsh, New York Times bestselling author of My Sunshine Away and The Big Door Prize
"In Oleander City, Bondurant reminds us of the horrors of our humanity but amid it all, that there are those who fight for goodness, for love and truth, that we are brutal but also beautiful brutes. This is a brilliant novel."
-Julianna Baggott, national bestselling author of Girl Talk and Pure
"Bondurant weaves together fascinating backstories with vivid descriptions of the storm and its aftermath, showing that it takes many types of courage to fight for what is right."
-Booklist
"This novel surprises with its perceptiveness and astonishes with its poignant illustration of the deeper and more sustaining values of beauty and truth and love."
-Clay Reynolds, author of The Vigil, Franklin's Crossing, and The Tentmaker
"Matt Bondurant's latest work of historical fiction is a deftly woven tale of humanity amidst tragedy. Its vivid characters traverse the broken landscape of hurricane-ravaged Galveston, their lives intersecting in surprising and complicated ways. I won't forget any of them-especially Hester, a stoic orphan girl accompanied by an old hound dog. It's a gripping story told with lush and immersive detail."
-Alix Ohlin, author of Dual Citizens and We Want What We Want
"Set against the sweeping backdrop of dramatic action…this book will keep you reading into the night."
-Chris Offutt, author of Shifty's Boys
"In Oleander City, Matt Bondurant takes the carbon of history and, with the pressure and heat of beautifully crafted prose, sensitively drawn characters, and a gut-wrenching, heart-wrenching narrative, creates a brilliant diamond of a novel. Bondurant hurls readers through the Galveston hurricane of 1900, past figures as legendary as Jack Johnson and Clara Barton, into collision with the Ku Klux Klan, and straight toward the dark, murky truth of the American Dream. Oleander City, like all diamonds, is a gift to last forever."
-Snowden Wright, author of Play Pretty Blues and American Pop
Marketing Plan
Internationally bestselling author of Lawless, the basis of the feature film starring Shia LaBeouf
Major prepublication buzz and outreach
National and regional features, interviews, and reviews
Print and online advertising
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Bookseller and library trade show marketing
Author website: MattBondurant.com
Follow the author on Twitter: @mbondurant
Available Editions
| EDITION | Audiobook, Unabridged |
| ISBN | 9798200816187 |
| PRICE | $19.95 (USD) |
| DURATION | 8 Hours, 41 Minutes, 24 Seconds |