Shadow

By Blaise Cendrars, Marcia Brown (Illustrator/Translator)

Shadow prowls the night, mingling with dancers, bridging past and present in a haunting African tale.

3.5/5 Goodreads · 1,456 ratings

40 pages· 714 words· Est. 6 min read-aloud

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Bookroo's summary

In a mystical African landscape, Shadow weaves through night fires and dances, embodying the spirits of the past and the beliefs of the present. As storytellers and shamans fade into memory, Shadow's silent presence casts a spell, haunting and enchanting the lives it touches. Marcia Brown's evocative collages bring to life this eerie journey, where the unseen becomes a powerful force, challenging the boundaries between reality and the supernatural. What secrets does Shadow hold, and how does it shape the world it silently observes?

From the publisher

Shadow lives in the forest…

It goes forth at night

to prowl around the fires.

It even likes to mingle

with the dancers…

Shadow…

It waves with the grasses,

curls up at the foot of trees…

But in the African experience Shadow is much more. The village storytellers and shamans of an Africa that is passing into memory called forth for the poet Blaise Cendrars an eerie image, shifting between the beliefs of the present and the spirits of the past.

Shadow…

It does not cry out,

it has no voice…

It can cast a spell over you…

It follows man everywhere,

even to war…

Marcia Brown’s stunning illustrations in collage, inspired by her travels in Africa, evoke the atmosphere and drama of a life now haunted, now enchanted by Shadow.