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1.45k reviews for:
Twelve Years a Slave: Including; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Solomon Northup, Frederick Douglass
4.23 AVERAGE
1.45k reviews for:
Twelve Years a Slave: Including; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Solomon Northup, Frederick Douglass
4.23 AVERAGE
emotional
tense
medium-paced
I feel genuinely honored that I got to read this account. I don't know if it was the audiobook reader or the fact that it was written while slavery still existed in such a form, but it was fascinating to see how dispassionately such a heart-wrenching story was told.
At times there were long descriptions of processes that got a little long, but the last 2 hours went by so quickly and so beautifully.
At times there were long descriptions of processes that got a little long, but the last 2 hours went by so quickly and so beautifully.
It’s not a book that is comfortable or easy to read, but it’s one that everyone should read. Autobiographies and histories of this nature are essential. We have to educate ourselves.
It must be more than a coincidence that of the half dozen or so non-fiction books which I have rated as amongst my favourites on my Goodreads 'Read' shelf, three concern triumph over adversity. By that, I don't mean 'triumph' in the sense of my favourite football (soccer to the American's out there) team scoring a winning goal. No, I mean a triumph of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming odds. Since this was one of the central themes of 'Twelve Years a Slave' I had high hopes of it joining those three books on my 'top books' shelf. Were this to be the case, it would be the first such non-fiction book which I have read in just short of two and a half years.
And for the first half, it met the criteria necessary to be given such a 'top-book' place. Emotion poured from the pages and it read like an addictive dream (or nightmare, depending on your perspective). It told of the abduction of Solomon Northup, a free black American, who had a wife and three young children. Only the most black hearted and cold individual could fail to feel a stirring of revulsion and slight guilt, at the thought that such treatment of fellow human beings as that which befell Northup was ever possible.
Apart from Northup being treated worse than a rabid dog at deaths door, and the emotions this brought forth in me while reading, his use of language was in no sense amateurish. His imagery and ability to convey the hopeless feeling of despair which at times he felt, was what kept the book ticking over.
However, this can only keep any book afloat for so long. Written in the style of a narrative, with little opportunity for dialogue and even less immediacy, the book began to labour through the second half. This was what held it back from being awarded five stars.
That said, it's historical significance as being if not the only, then one of the few slave narratives written from the perspective of someone who 'escaped' the plantations, as well as it's stirring and evocative prose, make it a great read.
And for the first half, it met the criteria necessary to be given such a 'top-book' place. Emotion poured from the pages and it read like an addictive dream (or nightmare, depending on your perspective). It told of the abduction of Solomon Northup, a free black American, who had a wife and three young children. Only the most black hearted and cold individual could fail to feel a stirring of revulsion and slight guilt, at the thought that such treatment of fellow human beings as that which befell Northup was ever possible.
Apart from Northup being treated worse than a rabid dog at deaths door, and the emotions this brought forth in me while reading, his use of language was in no sense amateurish. His imagery and ability to convey the hopeless feeling of despair which at times he felt, was what kept the book ticking over.
However, this can only keep any book afloat for so long. Written in the style of a narrative, with little opportunity for dialogue and even less immediacy, the book began to labour through the second half. This was what held it back from being awarded five stars.
That said, it's historical significance as being if not the only, then one of the few slave narratives written from the perspective of someone who 'escaped' the plantations, as well as it's stirring and evocative prose, make it a great read.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
heartbreaking, reflective, brutal and somehow inspiring. I am in awe of the horrific struggles so many black people faced and their ability to keep going. a testament to the lengths a man will go through to survive.
"Posso falar da escravatura na medida em que me foi dado observá-la, somente na medida em que a conheci e a experimentei na minha própria pessoa. O meu propósito é apresentar uma exposição honesta e verdadeira dos factos: repetir a história da minha vida, sem exageros, deixando os outros a determinar se as páginas de ficção descrevem alguma vez o quadro de uma injustiça mais cruel ou de um cativeiro mais severo."
Assim introduz Solomon Northup na primeira página da sua narrativa. Cada vez mais me consciencializo a importância de ler biografias, de relatos em primeira mão de provações inimagináveis. Corremos o risco de tornarem a sua própria história mais sensacionalista. Mas tal não é o caso.
Solomon Northup nasceu em 1808, filho de um escravo liberto e habitante de Nova Iorque, um estado livre de escravatura. Em 1841 foi raptado por uns senhores que o persuadiram a viajar em troca da propagação do seu talento. Drogado, vendido e maltratado, Solomon foi mantido prisioneiro em plantações do Louisiana, durante doze anos, sem ter qualquer contato com as pessoas que ama. O esforço conjunto de amigos permitiu a sua libertação física mas ainda assim agrilhoada dos sofrimentos por que ele passou. ❤️
Assim introduz Solomon Northup na primeira página da sua narrativa. Cada vez mais me consciencializo a importância de ler biografias, de relatos em primeira mão de provações inimagináveis. Corremos o risco de tornarem a sua própria história mais sensacionalista. Mas tal não é o caso.
Solomon Northup nasceu em 1808, filho de um escravo liberto e habitante de Nova Iorque, um estado livre de escravatura. Em 1841 foi raptado por uns senhores que o persuadiram a viajar em troca da propagação do seu talento. Drogado, vendido e maltratado, Solomon foi mantido prisioneiro em plantações do Louisiana, durante doze anos, sem ter qualquer contato com as pessoas que ama. O esforço conjunto de amigos permitiu a sua libertação física mas ainda assim agrilhoada dos sofrimentos por que ele passou. ❤️
This book is depressing to the core. It was great that Solomon escaped and gained his freedom back but what about the rest? they are doomed to endless suffering and subjugation inflicted by their masters. I watched this film at cinema and boy, my tears running down my face non stop. It breaks my heart seeing how humanity justify slavery based on skin Color. Solomon wrote this based on honesty and sincerity ; he sees goodness in people who've been very kind to him. As he said, not all slave master like master Epps. There are other slave master who treated his subjects very well. Solomon will not be free without Bass assistance and the pursuance of his friends once they got his letter. This is an intense journey filled with horrifying, heart wrenching, and heart warming by Solomon Northup. I gave 4 stars for this book.
challenging
dark
slow-paced