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mieni's review against another edition
3.0
Of course the book is very different to what we are used to in books today. Apart from the style of writing the book deals with a topic we do not necessarily enjoy: slavery.
Brown tells the story of Clotel, the fictional daughter of a slave and Thomas Jefferson.
Brown presents an sad insight on the reality of slavery throughout the book by telling the reader about their lives.
Brown tells the story of Clotel, the fictional daughter of a slave and Thomas Jefferson.
Brown presents an sad insight on the reality of slavery throughout the book by telling the reader about their lives.
perihan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ralowe's review against another edition
3.0
spoilers i guess"_
real talk: does anyone know the reason william wells brown took all references to thomas jefferson out of the third edition in 1864 and fourth edition in 1867? why did he change the spelling of the title to match the name of his second and youngest child "clotelle brown,"ќ born in 1862 to his second wife, annie elizabeth gray? cultural historian ezra greenspan unsatisfactorily grazes the question in his 2014 600-page biography (*william wells brown: an african american life*, pg 379). i've been chasing racist ectoplasmic traces of enslavement since i picked up this copy of the fourth and jeffersonless edition from craig's friend stephanie syujco's conceptual art collaboration with the friends of the san francisco public library at the san francisco museum of modern art. named "added value"ќ, the installation of tables of books with read-y signage disarranged retail aesthetics to suit a fugitive reorganization of knowledge that featured critical pairings of books shrinkwrapped together; i can't remember what or if this edition of *clotel* was shrinkwrapped to. perhaps it might have been paired in unruly juxtaposition with something that offered some clue for how one might run alongside this supernatural runaway; and/or i could pay better attention. in the edition i read, "clotelle"ќ is the name of the main character whose mom "isabella"ќ in a midpoint climactic sequence, accompanied by engraving, flings herself off a bridge into the potomac to evade slavecathcers; in the 1853 original identical death-before-dishonour sequence, "clotel"ќ is the name of the mother and the main character is named "mary"ќ. this means that wells brown named the fifth and final person he parented into existence after a fictionalized character he adapted from sally heming. but i knew neither that biographical detail nor what i was actually reading in this edition. adrift the devious twisted mists of spectral conspiracy with whether this was ghostwritten, edmund quincy: "i should be a bold man, as well as a vain one, if i should attempt to improve your descriptions of what you have seen and suffered"ќ (quincy quoted in manisha sinha's *the slave's cause: a history of abolition*, pg 428). (anti)whiteness and (un)freedom. overall the novel's frenzy of themes and scenes is gratifying, its nonexclusionary essay looks forward to "BLACK DADA NIHILISMUS,"ќ but why the edit? greenspan dismisses that jefferson's disappearance is censorship (pg. 513, *william wells brown: an african american life*, 2014). yet the readily apparent fucked up whiteness in blackness, the deus ex caucasoid, ensures a refusal to find closure around the question of freedom.
real talk: does anyone know the reason william wells brown took all references to thomas jefferson out of the third edition in 1864 and fourth edition in 1867? why did he change the spelling of the title to match the name of his second and youngest child "clotelle brown,"ќ born in 1862 to his second wife, annie elizabeth gray? cultural historian ezra greenspan unsatisfactorily grazes the question in his 2014 600-page biography (*william wells brown: an african american life*, pg 379). i've been chasing racist ectoplasmic traces of enslavement since i picked up this copy of the fourth and jeffersonless edition from craig's friend stephanie syujco's conceptual art collaboration with the friends of the san francisco public library at the san francisco museum of modern art. named "added value"ќ, the installation of tables of books with read-y signage disarranged retail aesthetics to suit a fugitive reorganization of knowledge that featured critical pairings of books shrinkwrapped together; i can't remember what or if this edition of *clotel* was shrinkwrapped to. perhaps it might have been paired in unruly juxtaposition with something that offered some clue for how one might run alongside this supernatural runaway; and/or i could pay better attention. in the edition i read, "clotelle"ќ is the name of the main character whose mom "isabella"ќ in a midpoint climactic sequence, accompanied by engraving, flings herself off a bridge into the potomac to evade slavecathcers; in the 1853 original identical death-before-dishonour sequence, "clotel"ќ is the name of the mother and the main character is named "mary"ќ. this means that wells brown named the fifth and final person he parented into existence after a fictionalized character he adapted from sally heming. but i knew neither that biographical detail nor what i was actually reading in this edition. adrift the devious twisted mists of spectral conspiracy with whether this was ghostwritten, edmund quincy: "i should be a bold man, as well as a vain one, if i should attempt to improve your descriptions of what you have seen and suffered"ќ (quincy quoted in manisha sinha's *the slave's cause: a history of abolition*, pg 428). (anti)whiteness and (un)freedom. overall the novel's frenzy of themes and scenes is gratifying, its nonexclusionary essay looks forward to "BLACK DADA NIHILISMUS,"ќ but why the edit? greenspan dismisses that jefferson's disappearance is censorship (pg. 513, *william wells brown: an african american life*, 2014). yet the readily apparent fucked up whiteness in blackness, the deus ex caucasoid, ensures a refusal to find closure around the question of freedom.
vivianam0's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
weaverh's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
sarahcoller's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Clotel has been dubbed the first novel published by an African American. I don't think I'd necessarily call it a novel as there's no real running plot throughout. It's really more of a mix of stories along with anecdotal information. He says it best at the end when he speaks of narratives. These are narratives written into story form and collected loosely with the thread of some characters being possible descendants of Thomas Jefferson running throughout. As a piece of literature, it wasn't particularly well-written. As a piece of history, it's invaluable.
These stories were so hard to read and imagine. I have shied away from reading hard things like this concerning cultural atrocities (holocaust, slavery days, child trafficking, etc.) for a long time. As a young mother and mother of young children, I didn't feel emotionally stable enough to read about these issues without it affecting the kind of peaceful mother I wanted to be. As that time of life wraps up, I'm finding that I can better face some of these horrific things. I think it's very important to keep the knowledge of this history alive. Both to give remembrance to those who suffered it and to arm ourselves with understanding as to how we can keep it from happening again.
These stories were so hard to read and imagine. I have shied away from reading hard things like this concerning cultural atrocities (holocaust, slavery days, child trafficking, etc.) for a long time. As a young mother and mother of young children, I didn't feel emotionally stable enough to read about these issues without it affecting the kind of peaceful mother I wanted to be. As that time of life wraps up, I'm finding that I can better face some of these horrific things. I think it's very important to keep the knowledge of this history alive. Both to give remembrance to those who suffered it and to arm ourselves with understanding as to how we can keep it from happening again.
rileyary's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
fractaltexan's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting novel, based on some very obvious historical figures and scandals. Brown's use of certain historical documents (Such as the Declaration of Independence) serves to show the contrast between the nation in documents and the nation in reality.
An interesting read for my Gender, Sexuality, and Literature class, and I will read it again post class.
An important note is that only half of the book is the novel proper. The rest are documents that seek to put the novel in historical context.
An interesting read for my Gender, Sexuality, and Literature class, and I will read it again post class.
An important note is that only half of the book is the novel proper. The rest are documents that seek to put the novel in historical context.
chanelmeadows's review against another edition
Mr. Brown is an amazing writer!
I have read other nonfiction novels about slavery that were extremely heavy or dry (obviously because of the severity of this topic) but Mr. Brown writes of these events in a manner that allows the reader to stay captivated not only by the historical points but also by his writing style and language. He shows the horrors of slavery by revealing the governments', religious institutions', and "good people"'s mistaken points of view.
Amazing read. It dies cover heavy points but the writer writes in a way that doesn't make the reader feel overburdened.
I have read other nonfiction novels about slavery that were extremely heavy or dry (obviously because of the severity of this topic) but Mr. Brown writes of these events in a manner that allows the reader to stay captivated not only by the historical points but also by his writing style and language. He shows the horrors of slavery by revealing the governments', religious institutions', and "good people"'s mistaken points of view.
Amazing read. It dies cover heavy points but the writer writes in a way that doesn't make the reader feel overburdened.