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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
This was such a trip.
The drawings were a no for me but discovering the work of Rebecca Hall was such a privilege.
Learned a lot and it totally pushes me to read more about the subject.
Thank you for your work Miss Hall !
The drawings were a no for me but discovering the work of Rebecca Hall was such a privilege.
Learned a lot and it totally pushes me to read more about the subject.
Thank you for your work Miss Hall !
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Very cool combination of history, histiography (new vocab word I learned from this book; there was a lot that I learned here!), and reflection/memoir on the process of researching chattel slavery and women-led revolts.
The text and visuals go together so well; I especially appreciated drawings of modern day cities that were infused with drawings representing the past.
I also loved reading about/seeing Hall's research process: how difficult it is to get access to relevant documents, what happens next for a historian when records are missing or inaccessible, and the the mental toll that dealing with racism in the research process (e.g., white security officers intimidating and mocking her when she tries to get access to documents) and with the content of her research has. It was powerful to read about the history she is sharing alongside what it is like for her to gather this history.
The text and visuals go together so well; I especially appreciated drawings of modern day cities that were infused with drawings representing the past.
I also loved reading about/seeing Hall's research process: how difficult it is to get access to relevant documents, what happens next for a historian when records are missing or inaccessible, and the the mental toll that dealing with racism in the research process (e.g., white security officers intimidating and mocking her when she tries to get access to documents) and with the content of her research has. It was powerful to read about the history she is sharing alongside what it is like for her to gather this history.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
The text is fascinating and affecting, but it isn't quite a hidden history of women-led slave revolts. If anything, it’s a book about the difficulty of knowing much about a past that has been deliberately erased, or which is still being gatekept and withheld—which is compelling in its own right, even if it isn't what I'd expected. So the content is excellent, but I wasn't as sold on the presentation. The illustrations are so busy that they were often difficult for me to take in and process as part of the narrative (though individual panels or pages were beautiful, it was visual overload). The lettering is also criminally small, and the…font? Is it a font if it’s hand-lettered?...was not the easiest, even for my decent vision.
What all good, compelling, deep graphic novels should be. Of course as a scholar trying to recover histories that have been erased by archives I was drawn to this book. The subject matter is important yet difficult to bear, though part of bearing witness to atrocity is the point in reclaiming new pathways for freedom ancestrally and otherwise for Black folk. A wonderful text that should be taught in feminist research methods classes. Wish I was still teaching so I could teach this book. A marvel, the art is incredible, gritty, moving and visually illustrates feelings and concepts Hall is thinking through. Favorite graphic novel I've read in a long time.
Moved by the care with which scenes from Hall's life and from history alike are rendered: captured Africans drawn so they are distinct individuals with discernible features (tall, short, broad, thin, curly-haired, balding); the tenderness with which Hall grants the request of a Black student of hers who asks for permission not to re-read Beloved after already having done so for a different class; the deep well of empathy but also grief that Hall takes on in her research. The time she takes to be in nature or with her family to refill the well.
Got literal chills at the line, "The more women onboard a slave ship, the more likely a revolt."
I do not pull out this quote to crassly girlboss-ify them — they were real people and they knew they were essentially choosing death. But in the context of historians generally erasing Black women from slave revolts, this is a stunning revelation.
Hall's refusal to allow these women to be erased — the refusal to allow Black people to be denied a future — feels like a call to action on its own. Going to be thinking about this book for a while.
Got literal chills at the line, "The more women onboard a slave ship, the more likely a revolt."
I do not pull out this quote to crassly girlboss-ify them — they were real people and they knew they were essentially choosing death. But in the context of historians generally erasing Black women from slave revolts, this is a stunning revelation.
Hall's refusal to allow these women to be erased — the refusal to allow Black people to be denied a future — feels like a call to action on its own. Going to be thinking about this book for a while.
Rebecca Hall is a historian, lawyer, and granddaughter of slaves. When she set out to research the history of women's involvement in slave revolts, she knew it would be an emotionally challenging project, but it was also a logistical challenge. How does one understand the lives of people who were so systematically disenfranchised that their names weren't even recorded? This graphic history book follows Hall's research journey while also reimagining the lives of women who died fighting slavery.
This is the best graphic history book I've ever read. Hands down. It's truly a phenomenal piece of research, art, and memoir, all woven together perfectly. Hugo Martinez brought Rebecca Hall's story and research to life with vivid, emotional comics that show how the history of slavery in the U.S. is both ignored and still reflected in our society today. I'm blown away by how well Hall and Martinez honor the lives erased in history, and I already can't wait to read this book again.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This is the best graphic history book I've ever read. Hands down. It's truly a phenomenal piece of research, art, and memoir, all woven together perfectly. Hugo Martinez brought Rebecca Hall's story and research to life with vivid, emotional comics that show how the history of slavery in the U.S. is both ignored and still reflected in our society today. I'm blown away by how well Hall and Martinez honor the lives erased in history, and I already can't wait to read this book again.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.