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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
In the US - this book is called "Someone Knows My Name." I met a Canadian woman at a conference and we started a conversation about books (yeah - Paul Theroux!) and she mentioned "The Book of Negroes." In the US - I could only find it by the other title. So - when a friend went to Toronto - I had him get me this book. LOVED IT!
Beautiful and awful and highly recommended for all.
Heartbreakingly beautiful. Aminata Diallo was superbly put to pen.
The story begins in the middle of the nineteenth century and tells the story of a young girl (eleven years of age) who is kidnapped by slave traders and taken to north America. It is superbly well told. An exceptional tale.
Sweeping tale of an African woman, Aminata Diallo, who is kidnapped near her village, at the age of 11, and sold into slavery in the United States. The story spans 60 years of Aminata's life from Africa to the US, then Canada, back to Africa and ending in England, where Aminata writes down her story for the Abolitionist movement in 1803, hoping to bring an end to the slave trade.
This tale is rich in history - I learned many things I never knew and Meena is the perfect narrator. Her strength and resilience are inspiring as she never gives up hope after all she endures. I had never heard of this novel before and, apparently, it has different titles around the world. In Canada, the home of the author, it is known as The Book of Negroes and, according to another Goodreads reviewer, it is also known simply as Aminata elsewhere.
Regardless of what it is called, this is a fantastic book. I highly recommend it.
This book is so well written. The reason I didn’t give 5 stars is because of how depressing it is. Nothing positive happens and I had a feeling it would be a read like that given the story line when I purchased the book years ago. However, I’ve heard so many great things and that it’s a “must-read in your lifetime” kind of book, I had to see for myself.
During isolation I’ve been reading all the books in my shelf I’ve been meaning to get to, this one being one of them. It’s a beautiful book, but I was not in the right headspace to appreciate it. I just found it really depressing and couldn’t wait to move on to something lighter. Which isn’t fair, it deserves the read.
During isolation I’ve been reading all the books in my shelf I’ve been meaning to get to, this one being one of them. It’s a beautiful book, but I was not in the right headspace to appreciate it. I just found it really depressing and couldn’t wait to move on to something lighter. Which isn’t fair, it deserves the read.
An eye-opening story of one of the darkest times in human history. A must read!
This is an amazing, horrifying, and devastating historical fiction set in 1742. It follows Aminata Diallo from the moment she loses her freedom, witnesses the deaths of both her parents and is stolen into slavery at the age of 11. She is forced to march across her African country, is branded by her captors, and is put onto a slave trader's ship which sails to the USA where she is sold into the indigo trade. Her life in slavery is portrayed in graphic detail. You weep as she endures unthinkable tortures and cheer as she finally grasps her freedom during the American Revolution. But even in freedom, she encounters unbearable hardships, such as losing both her husband and having her daughter abducted by her employer. Her goal of returning home sees her travel from South Carolina to Nova Scotia, to Sierra Leone and eventually to London, where she works alongside Abolitionists in their fight to end slavery and the slave trade.
An amazing adventure. Highly recommended!
An amazing adventure. Highly recommended!
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes