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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
A bit implausible that Aminata learns to read and write and eventually becomes a public speaker, as so few women of that era would have done, but it is a novel, and it's well written and narrated and keeps you absorbed. Good character description, the twists and turns in the tale are well handled. A moving story, and one to read again (as I've just done).
Excellent book. Gave a really good perspective on what slaves really had to look forward to with a new life in Canada.
I’ll come back for a full review but I know Aminatta Diallo is a name I won’t forget anytime soon.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
No
A truly remarkable book, this is that one book I've been ashamed to admit I hadn't yet read. When it came out I had just had my second child, then wrote a book the following year, two more books the following year, and another book the year after that, and then I spent the next while just catching up on everything I'd missed. This was always on the list, and it was extraordinary. The beautiful story of Aminata Diallo, her capture from her peaceful life in Africa, the brutal treatment she and thousands of men, women, and children endured, and the life she made for herself afterwards. Hill has done his research, and doesn't paint a black and white portrait where the white man is bad, Africans good. In the African village where Aminata lives, there are people born into slavery and they work as such within the village, though they are treated far better than the slaves who were brought to America. While her first placement in America is a nasty one, Aminata soon finds herself sold to a family who teaches her how to read and write, and those two skills change her life forever. This is a story of fierce determination, loyalty, love, the connections forced upon us and the loving connections we make, and a desperation to return to one's homeland. It brings home the reality of what was done so long ago, and it boggles the mind to think that human beings could ever treat other human beings in this manner. A true masterpiece that should be required reading everywhere. I thank Lawrence Hill from the bottom of my heart for this book.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I give this novel 4.5 stars.
(International Title Someone Knows My Name)
Hill has created an incredible story and an incredible character in Aminata Diallo. The strength, endurance and perseverance she possesses are remarkable and I was engrossed from the very beginning of the book. I read this book two years ago and it has stayed with me ever since.
The book description reads as follows: "Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle - a string of slaves - Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic "Book of Negroes". This book, an actual document, provides a short but immensely revealing record of freed Loyalist slaves who requested permission to leave the US for resettlement in Nova Scotia, only to find that the haven they sought was steeped in an oppression all of its own. Aminata's eventual return to Sierra Leone - passing ships carrying thousands of slaves bound for America - is an engrossing account of an obscure but important chapter in history that saw 1,200 former slaves embark on a harrowing back-to-Africa odyssey. Lawrence Hill is a master at transforming the neglected corners of history into brilliant imaginings, as engaging and revealing as only the best historical fiction can be. A sweeping story that transports the reader from a tribal African village to a plantation in the southern United States, from the teeming Halifax docks to the manor houses of London, The Book of Negroes introduces one of the strongest female characters in recent Canadian fiction, one who cuts a swath through a world hostile to her colour and her sex."
Hill did enormous research and based much of the novel on extracts from diaries, letters and memoirs he uncovered. The story is so well woven and cause one who thinks their eyes are already open to open them even wider. I highly recommend it to everyone.
(International Title Someone Knows My Name)
Hill has created an incredible story and an incredible character in Aminata Diallo. The strength, endurance and perseverance she possesses are remarkable and I was engrossed from the very beginning of the book. I read this book two years ago and it has stayed with me ever since.
The book description reads as follows: "Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle - a string of slaves - Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic "Book of Negroes". This book, an actual document, provides a short but immensely revealing record of freed Loyalist slaves who requested permission to leave the US for resettlement in Nova Scotia, only to find that the haven they sought was steeped in an oppression all of its own. Aminata's eventual return to Sierra Leone - passing ships carrying thousands of slaves bound for America - is an engrossing account of an obscure but important chapter in history that saw 1,200 former slaves embark on a harrowing back-to-Africa odyssey. Lawrence Hill is a master at transforming the neglected corners of history into brilliant imaginings, as engaging and revealing as only the best historical fiction can be. A sweeping story that transports the reader from a tribal African village to a plantation in the southern United States, from the teeming Halifax docks to the manor houses of London, The Book of Negroes introduces one of the strongest female characters in recent Canadian fiction, one who cuts a swath through a world hostile to her colour and her sex."
Hill did enormous research and based much of the novel on extracts from diaries, letters and memoirs he uncovered. The story is so well woven and cause one who thinks their eyes are already open to open them even wider. I highly recommend it to everyone.
Het is alsof je denkt in de intercity te stappen, maar later blijkt het toch een stoptrein met vertraging te zijn. Eerst heb je nog medelijden met de conducteur die stamelend zijn excuses aanbied, maar al gauw wordt je gek van hem. Terwijl het niet zijn schuld is. Uiteindelijk kom je de tijd door met uit het raam kijken waar het landschap afwisselend is. Gelukkig word je, als je uitstapt, blij verrast omdat je vriendin je toch is op komen halen.
Oftewel: Een boek waarvan ik het gevoel heb dat ik 'm heel goed moet vinden, en soms vind ik dat ook, maar hij heeft ook tijden stof verzameld naast mijn bed.
Oftewel: Een boek waarvan ik het gevoel heb dat ik 'm heel goed moet vinden, en soms vind ik dat ook, maar hij heeft ook tijden stof verzameld naast mijn bed.
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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