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1.46k reviews for:
Twelve Years a Slave: Including; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Solomon Northup, Frederick Douglass
4.23 AVERAGE
1.46k reviews for:
Twelve Years a Slave: Including; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Solomon Northup, Frederick Douglass
4.23 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
i'm not completely sure why, but at first i was reluctant to read this book. however, i'm soooo glad i finally did. i read it over two days and could hardly put it down. it was also extra interesting to me that it took place in my state of residence. after reading it, i looked up the different places mentioned in the book. i shared this book with my husband and we are thinking about going to visit these areas. i also want to see the movie.
Ik vind het eigenlijk heel raar dat ik zo veel scholen en opleidingen heb doorlopen en dit nergens tegen ben gekomen.
Non-fiction that describes Solomon Northup’s experience as a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, where he remained from 1841 to 1853, working on plantations in Louisiana before being rescued through the efforts of friends and family. I was impressed by this account, especially since it was documented almost immediately upon his return to freedom when his memories were fresh. This powerful narrative vividly depicts life of a slave in the antebellum American South, including slave pens, sales, quarters, abuses, and the processes of picking cotton and harvesting sugar cane. Though he suffered severe misery, both physically and mentally, Solomon Northup never gave up hope of being released. This book shows the amazing resilience of the human spirit in the face of great adversity. It is surprisingly readable, considering it was published in 1853, with only a small amount of anachronistic language. I wish it had included more about how he re-adapted to his family and former life, but it is short and focused on his enslavement. Content warnings include extreme brutality, abuse, degradation, and racism. I found it a significant, still-relevant, first-hand indictment of slavery. This book is a piece of history. Recommended.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
How I wish I could say that this book was written as a piece of fiction.
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
It took me a while to get used to Northup's voice. I guess it's been a while since I've read a book published before 1950. I wish I had read this before watching the movie because I spent way too much time trying to put faces from the movie I saw over a year ago to the characters in the book. It really is a fascinating read and informs the modern reader about slavery at the time. Although I do not believe Northup is completely impartial, he does strive to create a balanced narrative and avoid stereotypes.