Let the Lion Eat Straw

To mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of its publication, Amistad is reissuing in hardcover Let the Lion Eat Straw, a hymnlike novel that tells the story of Abeba Williams, whose mother abandons the poverty and despair of the South - and in the process her daughter - for opportunities up North. In the absence of her mother, Abeba clings to Mamma Habblesham, a woman with enviable reserves of love and hope. Their affection for each other seems boundless - until Abeba's mother returns to take her daughter to Brooklyn. As she grows up, her exceptional musical talent promises to be an avenue of escape. But a handsome young singer distracts her, and opportunities that once seemed so close begin to fall away. Now married with children, Abeba fights to maintain the dignity of her family.