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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
This book had been sitting on my shelf for a long time. Having grown up in Nova Scotia, 40 minutes away from Shelbourne, I knew this was an important read about a topic not often talked about when I was a child.
This was such a beautifully devastating sweeping historical book. What I loved most about this book is how language was such an important part of Aminata’s life. The way she described the world around her changed as she did. How frightening and disorienting it was to be surrounded by people you can’t understand and in a place you don’t have the words to comprehend.
The author spent the right amount of time in each part of Aminata’s life so that you could get a glimpse of how other people’s circumstances were. While the book was based around Aminata, you didn’t feel like it was only following her life and experiences.
This a book is for anyone who enjoys sweeping historical novels that are heavily people and location focused.
This was such a beautifully devastating sweeping historical book. What I loved most about this book is how language was such an important part of Aminata’s life. The way she described the world around her changed as she did. How frightening and disorienting it was to be surrounded by people you can’t understand and in a place you don’t have the words to comprehend.
The author spent the right amount of time in each part of Aminata’s life so that you could get a glimpse of how other people’s circumstances were. While the book was based around Aminata, you didn’t feel like it was only following her life and experiences.
This a book is for anyone who enjoys sweeping historical novels that are heavily people and location focused.
This is a fictional retelling of a real historical period where slaves who fought on the British side during the American Revolution were offered sanctuary in Nova Scotia and then later shipped to Freetown in Sierra Leone.
The book follows the story of one African girl, Aminata, who is captured, sold into slavery, runs away, and becomes one of the blacks who works for the British. She writes the names of the black folks who have qualified for the British offer in "The Book of Negroes." But once they get to Nova Scotia, they find life is hard, the Brits don't follow through on giving them the land they were promised, and race riots decimate the black community. Aminata takes up the offer to be shipped to Sierra Leone, where she hopes to find her way back to the village where she was born.
I found the book to be just a little didactic in areas - it was obvious that Hill is trying to teach about lesser-known history of black folks in Canada. However, Aminata is such a likeable and relatable character that it doesn't matter. I liked this and am curious now about the miniseries based on the book.
The book follows the story of one African girl, Aminata, who is captured, sold into slavery, runs away, and becomes one of the blacks who works for the British. She writes the names of the black folks who have qualified for the British offer in "The Book of Negroes." But once they get to Nova Scotia, they find life is hard, the Brits don't follow through on giving them the land they were promised, and race riots decimate the black community. Aminata takes up the offer to be shipped to Sierra Leone, where she hopes to find her way back to the village where she was born.
I found the book to be just a little didactic in areas - it was obvious that Hill is trying to teach about lesser-known history of black folks in Canada. However, Aminata is such a likeable and relatable character that it doesn't matter. I liked this and am curious now about the miniseries based on the book.
Bringing the pages alive and making you understand the depth and breadth of the heartache that our main character endures, Lawrence Hill has a fan in me. Lawrence did not cover my eyes, but put it all out for me to feel and digest. What Aminata endured, what she saw, what became of her, and how all these events would make me feel upon reading the final page.
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Rassismus, Missbrauch, Sklaverei – das sind alles keine Themen, die man mal eben gemütlich weglesen möchte. Aminatas Geschichte wird lebendig erzählt: mal wunderbar detailverliebt, mal erschreckend grausam, oft sogar witzig – und auch fast immer glaubhaft. Da sie eine ganze Lebensspanne umfasst, kommt sie dabei nicht um eine gewisse Episodenhaftigkeit herum. Vielleicht ist aber der einzig wirkliche Kritikpunkt der, dass sie es mir zu leicht gemacht hat. Dennoch: "Ich habe einen Namen" ist ein gutes Buch und ich habe es gerne gelesen.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thought provoking book. Author does a good job at capturing the main character's voice during each age, from young girl to old woman.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Meticulously researched and deeply engrossing. It tells a hard story without papering over the horrors of the slave trade while also never wallowing in the misery.
2018 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge-A book by an author of a different ethnicity.
This book was really good. My only complaint was I had trouble keeping up with the timeline, but that's to be expected about a book that covers the entire life of a character. Slavery was wrong and it really boggles my mind how most people back then didn't realize it.
This book was really good. My only complaint was I had trouble keeping up with the timeline, but that's to be expected about a book that covers the entire life of a character. Slavery was wrong and it really boggles my mind how most people back then didn't realize it.