--- product_id: 11039271 title: "Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo: A Novel" price: "€ 26.71" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11039271-sassafrass-cypress-and-indigo-a-novel store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo: A Novel **Price:** € 26.71 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** € 26.71 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11039271-sassafrass-cypress-and-indigo-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Ntozake Shange's beloved Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is the story of three sisters and their mother from Charleston, South Carolina. "A jubilant celebration of womanhood―as moving as the moon . . . pure magic." -- Kansas City Star Sassafrass, the oldest, is a poet and a weaver like her mother before her. Having gone north to college, she is now living with other artists in Los Angeles and trying to weave a life out of her work, her man, her memories and dreams. Cypress, the dancer, leaves home to find new ways of moving in the world. Indigo, the youngest, is still a child of Charleston-"too much of the south in her"-who lives in poetry and has the supreme gift of seeing the obvious magic of the world. Shange's rich and wondrous story of womanhood, art, and passionately-lived lives is written "with such exquisite care and beauty that anybody can relate to her message" ( The New York Times ). Review: Shange proves herself to be a beautiful storyteller - "Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo" by Ntozake Shange weaves together the varied experiences of three sisters and their mother as it moves through the past, present, and future of not only their lives, but the lives of mystical and real African-American woman who came before and will come after them. Shange, famous for her choreopoem, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf," which grew from her own suicide attempts, again explores the way African-American women are as diverse in personalities and emotions as the colors of the rainbow while showing the beauty and hardships that come from being a woman. Shange proves herself to be a beautiful storyteller as well as one willing to experiment with writing forms, mixing prose with poetry, music, and dance. Using just her words, Shange shows emotions through detailed descriptions of moves that allow the characters in her book to dance out of the pages. Shange’s book reads as a celebration of the accomplishments made by the Black Arts Movement, with its realization that the expressions of joy and sorrow would be inadequately portrayed with prose alone. Readers need to hear the music and poetry and see the characters’ movements in their minds in order to truly understand the characters, and, by extension, humanity in general. Shange never allows her book to drift away from its focus on women. Relationships are often destructive to the women. In one scene that seems to call back to the rape discussion in "For Colored Girls" in which the lady in blue says rape is often “bein betrayed by men who know us,” Sassafrass berates men who are speaking disrespectfully about women, telling them, “don’t you ever sit in my house and ask me to celebrate my inherited right to be raped.” Critics of Shange have said that she turned on her own race with her descriptions of violence done to African-American women by African-American men. By not focusing on stories of white man’s violence against African-American women, however, Shange keeps her focus on the widespread violence and disregard of women rather than allowing her stories to drift into debates about the status of race relations. Shange also expertly shows the internal battles women fight to be independent in a society that expects women to give themselves completely to men. Shange herself said she pictured Cypress when writing "For Colored Girls," which helps show why many of the ideas expressed in "For Colored Girls," such as the lady in green’s lamenting of a man who “almost walked off wid all my stuff,” meaning her personality and dreams, arise in "Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo." Review: Loved this book - Great book. Really wonderful!!!!!!! Stunning and graphic in all the right ways. I wanted more. Looking forward to more from this author. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #408,551 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #525 in Black & African American Historical Fiction (Books) #1,476 in Literary Criticism & Theory #3,910 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 291 Reviews | ## Images ![Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81sTte4TH8L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Shange proves herself to be a beautiful storyteller *by A***G on November 5, 2017* "Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo" by Ntozake Shange weaves together the varied experiences of three sisters and their mother as it moves through the past, present, and future of not only their lives, but the lives of mystical and real African-American woman who came before and will come after them. Shange, famous for her choreopoem, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf," which grew from her own suicide attempts, again explores the way African-American women are as diverse in personalities and emotions as the colors of the rainbow while showing the beauty and hardships that come from being a woman. Shange proves herself to be a beautiful storyteller as well as one willing to experiment with writing forms, mixing prose with poetry, music, and dance. Using just her words, Shange shows emotions through detailed descriptions of moves that allow the characters in her book to dance out of the pages. Shange’s book reads as a celebration of the accomplishments made by the Black Arts Movement, with its realization that the expressions of joy and sorrow would be inadequately portrayed with prose alone. Readers need to hear the music and poetry and see the characters’ movements in their minds in order to truly understand the characters, and, by extension, humanity in general. Shange never allows her book to drift away from its focus on women. Relationships are often destructive to the women. In one scene that seems to call back to the rape discussion in "For Colored Girls" in which the lady in blue says rape is often “bein betrayed by men who know us,” Sassafrass berates men who are speaking disrespectfully about women, telling them, “don’t you ever sit in my house and ask me to celebrate my inherited right to be raped.” Critics of Shange have said that she turned on her own race with her descriptions of violence done to African-American women by African-American men. By not focusing on stories of white man’s violence against African-American women, however, Shange keeps her focus on the widespread violence and disregard of women rather than allowing her stories to drift into debates about the status of race relations. Shange also expertly shows the internal battles women fight to be independent in a society that expects women to give themselves completely to men. Shange herself said she pictured Cypress when writing "For Colored Girls," which helps show why many of the ideas expressed in "For Colored Girls," such as the lady in green’s lamenting of a man who “almost walked off wid all my stuff,” meaning her personality and dreams, arise in "Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo." ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loved this book *by K***R on April 30, 2026* Great book. Really wonderful!!!!!!! Stunning and graphic in all the right ways. I wanted more. Looking forward to more from this author. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Unique Writing Style! *by A***R on June 3, 2020* I absolutely love the author! Watching her plays have been everything. This book... took me a while to get through to be honest. Her writing style is unique. I’d order another Shange book though. I still love her! --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11039271-sassafrass-cypress-and-indigo-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/11039271-sassafrass-cypress-and-indigo-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-10-04*