Clover - Softcover

“Provocative and thoroughly engaging . . . Bursting with sweetness, flavor, and color.”*

Clover Hill is ten years old when her father, the principal of the local elementary school, marries a white woman, Sara Kate. Just hours later, an automobile accident compels Clover to forge a relationship with the new stepmother she hardly knows in this beautiful, enduring novel about a family lost and found. In the spirit of Cold Sassy Tree and The Secret Life of Bees, Clover is a witty, insightful classic for readers of all ages.

“Striking . . . The author has staked out an impressive new territory here, replete with peach farmers, textile workers, drunks and crazy people, with the newly middle class as well as the terminally poor . . . Clover is very much the genuine item.” ―The New York Times

“Black vernacular as convincing as Alice Walker’s, imaginative metaphors that rival Maya Angelou’s and humor as delicious as Zora Neale Hurston’s.” ―Publishers Weekly

“This is an honest and refreshing novel that makes an important statement about the barriers between blacks and whites.” ―*San Francisco Chronicle

“Sanders sews these family scenes together like a fine quiltmaker, delicately fashioning scenes that include distant relatives and old friends with all their peculiarities and local customs.” ―The Washington Post Book World

“A moving portrait . . . In lean but rich prose, [Sanders’] characters come to life.” ―The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Rich in language and character observation . . . Sanders’ achievement lies in the freshness of Clover’s voice and the old-timey eccentricity of her vision.” ―The Philadelphia Inquirer

“A gentle, wise, emotionally satisfying winner.” ―The Cleveland Plain Dealer<

Dori Sanders was born in York County, South Carolina. Her father’s farm, where her family still raises Georgia Belle and Alberta peaches, is one of the oldest black-owned farms in York County. In the growing season she farms the family land, cultivating peaches, watermelons, and vegetables, and helps staff Sanders’ Peach Shed, her family’s farmstand. Clover, her first novel, was followed by the novel Her Own Place and a cookbook, Dori Sanders’ Country Cooking.