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1.49k reviews for:
Twelve Years a Slave: The Autobiography of Solomon Northup
Louis Gossett Jr., Solomon Northup
4.24 AVERAGE
1.49k reviews for:
Twelve Years a Slave: The Autobiography of Solomon Northup
Louis Gossett Jr., Solomon Northup
4.24 AVERAGE
This was one of those books I had been looking forward to reading for an incredibly long time, especially as I was adamant I was going to read it before watching the movie
Solomon Northup tells his harrowing story of how, despite being a free man in New York, he was kidnapped in Washington and then sold as a slave where he would continue to work for 12 years, under the slave name Platt Hamilton. Solomon describes some of the shocking and sad events that he was witness to, and how events unfolded that allowed him to finally come back home.
I really enjoyed this (as much as one can given the topic). I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Hugh Quarshie, which was wonderful. Some of the dramatic moments really came to life even more so than had I just read the book and I found myself in tears often. It’s such a sad recounting of the events in his life, and his detailed descriptions are extremely powerful.
My only slight reservation with the book was that sometimes it can be a little hard going; and not just because of the subject matter. As Solomon states at the beginning, it was recommended to him that he writes his story in a book, and I believe you can tell. It’s written at times like a school history book. It’s very much one note throughout, and while some parts are overly detailed, there are then significant periods of time that are just glossed over, to a certain extent. There’s very few of the other characters you get chance to connect with as they come and go rather quickly in the narrative.
Regardless of this though, I absolutely would recommend this book and I am looking forward to seeing the movie. A solid 4 stars from me
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Solomon Northup tells his harrowing story of how, despite being a free man in New York, he was kidnapped in Washington and then sold as a slave where he would continue to work for 12 years, under the slave name Platt Hamilton. Solomon describes some of the shocking and sad events that he was witness to, and how events unfolded that allowed him to finally come back home.
I really enjoyed this (as much as one can given the topic). I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Hugh Quarshie, which was wonderful. Some of the dramatic moments really came to life even more so than had I just read the book and I found myself in tears often. It’s such a sad recounting of the events in his life, and his detailed descriptions are extremely powerful.
My only slight reservation with the book was that sometimes it can be a little hard going; and not just because of the subject matter. As Solomon states at the beginning, it was recommended to him that he writes his story in a book, and I believe you can tell. It’s written at times like a school history book. It’s very much one note throughout, and while some parts are overly detailed, there are then significant periods of time that are just glossed over, to a certain extent. There’s very few of the other characters you get chance to connect with as they come and go rather quickly in the narrative.
Regardless of this though, I absolutely would recommend this book and I am looking forward to seeing the movie. A solid 4 stars from me
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
It is remarkable how easy of a read this is & how well Northup’s prose translates to the modern day.
However, the graphic details & harrowing recounts will simply require you put the book down at points.
Portions like Northup explaining how cotton & sugar cane cropping functioned can be slow, yet it is incredibly the vivid details he recounts. It certainly challenges the notion that slaves were just sitting on their hands.
This book basically debunks any argument centered around slavery being a dark necessity in American history & it is disgusting to consider that the barbaric treatment of Northup was perhaps relatively tame compared to millions of other slaves.
As a Louisiana resident, I certainly see how this good ole’ boy culture & the ramifications of white supremacy are still ever present.
However, the graphic details & harrowing recounts will simply require you put the book down at points.
Portions like Northup explaining how cotton & sugar cane cropping functioned can be slow, yet it is incredibly the vivid details he recounts. It certainly challenges the notion that slaves were just sitting on their hands.
This book basically debunks any argument centered around slavery being a dark necessity in American history & it is disgusting to consider that the barbaric treatment of Northup was perhaps relatively tame compared to millions of other slaves.
As a Louisiana resident, I certainly see how this good ole’ boy culture & the ramifications of white supremacy are still ever present.
I'm not sure where the other reviews are coming from but I'm choosing to take this at face value, as truth. I think any account of what a slave went through is valuable and should be treasured. The writing style was a peek into a world that used to be. Everything else I have to say would be in ignorance and I'm glad I've read this. Will be watching the movie next!
**audiobook
**audiobook
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
How humanity ever could have been this cruel (how it still is) I will never comprehend.
any words i can come up with seem useless after reading the harrowing account of solomon northup (particularly knowing that, as he was well aware, he was one of the lucky few whose story ran parallel to those even less advantaged than he) so here are some of his own:
‘There may be humane masters, as there certainly are inhuman ones—there may be slaves well-clothed, well-fed, and happy, as there surely are those half-clad, half-starved and miserable; nevertheless, the institution that tolerates such wrong and inhumanity as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust, and barbarous one. Men may write fictions portraying lowly life as it is, or as it is not—may expatiate with owlish gravity upon the bliss of ignorance—discourse flippantly from arm chairs of the pleasures of slave life; but let them toil with him in the field—sleep with him in the cabin—feed with him on husks; let them behold him scourged, hunted, trampled on, and they will come back with another story in their mouths. Let them know the /heart/ of the poor slave—learn his secret thoughts—thoughts he dare not utter in the hearing of the white man; let them sit by him in the silent watches of the night—converse with him in trustful confidence, of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and they will find that ninety-nine out of every hundred are intelligent enough to understand their situation, and to cherish in their bosoms the love of freedom, as passionately as themselves’
‘There's a sin, a fearful sin, resting on this nation, that will not go unpunished forever. There will be reckoning yet ... it may be sooner or it may be later, but it's a coming as sure as the Lord is just’
‘There may be humane masters, as there certainly are inhuman ones—there may be slaves well-clothed, well-fed, and happy, as there surely are those half-clad, half-starved and miserable; nevertheless, the institution that tolerates such wrong and inhumanity as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust, and barbarous one. Men may write fictions portraying lowly life as it is, or as it is not—may expatiate with owlish gravity upon the bliss of ignorance—discourse flippantly from arm chairs of the pleasures of slave life; but let them toil with him in the field—sleep with him in the cabin—feed with him on husks; let them behold him scourged, hunted, trampled on, and they will come back with another story in their mouths. Let them know the /heart/ of the poor slave—learn his secret thoughts—thoughts he dare not utter in the hearing of the white man; let them sit by him in the silent watches of the night—converse with him in trustful confidence, of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and they will find that ninety-nine out of every hundred are intelligent enough to understand their situation, and to cherish in their bosoms the love of freedom, as passionately as themselves’
‘There's a sin, a fearful sin, resting on this nation, that will not go unpunished forever. There will be reckoning yet ... it may be sooner or it may be later, but it's a coming as sure as the Lord is just’
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced