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serendipitysbooks's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
The Slave Yards is a translated work of historical fiction. The title refers to an area on the nineteenth-century Benghazi coast where black Africans who were brought to Libya as slaves were traded. The area later became a makeshift settlement occupied by those, like former slaves and their descendants, on the margins of society. And it is where Atiqa lives. We meet her as an adult when she meets her cousin Ali and learns the truth about her family history. The story unspools first to her childhood, where she was raised by her aunt and never knew her parents, and then further back to the life of her mother. Tawida was an enslaved Black woman who caught the eye of her master’s son, a relationship that would irrevocably alter her life.
This is a tough read. The fact that it doesn’t unfold in a linear fashion can make it a bit tricky to settle into. And the subject matter is obviously tough - apart from the (sadly expected) horrific treatment of the enslaved, there are also forced abortions, forced prostitution and outright torture. It also speaks to the risks and perils of relationships between owned and owner, no matter how genuine the feelings of the two people concerned. But there is also a focus on the resilience of the enslaved and especially the bonds between the women. The book also includes a nuanced look at racial identity, something Atiqa always struggled with.
What make this book special though, and well-worth reading is that it is a Middle Eastern story. This is an aspect of slavery that western readers like myself, familiar with the “enslaved people on plantations in America and the Caribbean” narrative, are often largely unaware.
All in all an absorbing but heavy tale told well. And one with a unique (at least for most Western readers) perspective on slavery.
This is a tough read. The fact that it doesn’t unfold in a linear fashion can make it a bit tricky to settle into. And the subject matter is obviously tough - apart from the (sadly expected) horrific treatment of the enslaved, there are also forced abortions, forced prostitution and outright torture. It also speaks to the risks and perils of relationships between owned and owner, no matter how genuine the feelings of the two people concerned. But there is also a focus on the resilience of the enslaved and especially the bonds between the women. The book also includes a nuanced look at racial identity, something Atiqa always struggled with.
What make this book special though, and well-worth reading is that it is a Middle Eastern story. This is an aspect of slavery that western readers like myself, familiar with the “enslaved people on plantations in America and the Caribbean” narrative, are often largely unaware.
All in all an absorbing but heavy tale told well. And one with a unique (at least for most Western readers) perspective on slavery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Child death, Homophobia, Slavery, and Violence
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