Take a photo of a barcode or cover
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
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
My heart is broken. Reading Solomon's manner of fact telling of the horrors he and other slaves endured touched a place deep in me. His straight forward manner makes his story all the more gut wrenching. I am overwhelmed by the strength of the human spirit and body. Reading this book was the closest I have come to understanding the hopelessness of the life slaves had to endure. I am sick that humans can treat each other this way. The quiet dignity with which Solomon endured this travesty is beautiful. His compassion and understanding make me want to be a better person. This was an hopeless yet hope filled story which will probably always stay with me.
I waited to watch the movie until I’d had a chance to read the book and I’m glad I did that. This is a book I can barely find the words to describe. It is heart-breaking and completely arresting. It’s been over 150 years since it was first published and the emotions still jump off the page so vividly. It’s hard to explain the visceral reactions I had to the book. I don’t think I have the ability to put them into words. (Nor do I want to, really.) Suffice it to say that I am glad I read this before watching the movie. It brought additional context and emotional heft to the scenes on screen. If you have not read it yet, please do. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, wait until you’ve read the book.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Cultural appropriation, Classism
4.2 ☆
Took me a long, long time to read, but it was very insightful.
A great read for Black History Month (which is when I started this memoir).
I loved how everything felt very true, with no exaggeration and no opinions, only facts.
I definitely would recommend.
Took me a long, long time to read, but it was very insightful.
A great read for Black History Month (which is when I started this memoir).
I loved how everything felt very true, with no exaggeration and no opinions, only facts.
I definitely would recommend.
Such a good powerful story! I think everyone should read it, but the writing style and the fact that the preface spoils some of the story is why I gave it a 4. If you read this skip the preface until the end. It has good info but it spoils too much up front. Be prepared for complicated sentence structure. This is an older book and it can be a bit more challenging, but can definitely do it. Great read.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced