You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Solomon Northup was a free-born African American man from New York, kidnapped and sold into slavery. This book chronicles the twelve years he spent as a slave in the southern states.
The writing style made it difficult to focus at times, but that could just be me and my struggle with classic books. I also had an issue with David Johnson's narration; he didn't do a lousy job, but it didn't feel like the right fit for this book.
This is a horrific, sad, uncomfortable read, but a powerful and important one to read and remember.
The writing style made it difficult to focus at times, but that could just be me and my struggle with classic books. I also had an issue with David Johnson's narration; he didn't do a lousy job, but it didn't feel like the right fit for this book.
This is a horrific, sad, uncomfortable read, but a powerful and important one to read and remember.
Wow! it was hard to believe that it wasn't fiction. Riveting. You had to make allowances for the time period, but what an incredible person.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This autobiography of a Black man from before the abolition of slavery in the USA is as harrowing as it is essential reading. It has been waiting on my e-reader for a long time because I'm not the best with classics and it
sounded like a hard read. Well, it is. Of course it is. Solomon Northup spares us none of the hardships and cruelty he suffered at the hands of white people. It’s also a story of résilience and defiant hope, in a way. I wasn’t expecting it to feel so much like the author was standing in front of me and telling his story. I don’t know how much the text was edited for clarity / grammar / spelling, but it was an easier read, language-wise, than I'd expected.
And now I'm off to read something about Black joy for balance. Black History Month is a year-long endeavour, and it should be as much about the past and the fight for Black dignity as it should be about Black power & light.
sounded like a hard read. Well, it is. Of course it is. Solomon Northup spares us none of the hardships and cruelty he suffered at the hands of white people. It’s also a story of résilience and defiant hope, in a way. I wasn’t expecting it to feel so much like the author was standing in front of me and telling his story. I don’t know how much the text was edited for clarity / grammar / spelling, but it was an easier read, language-wise, than I'd expected.
And now I'm off to read something about Black joy for balance. Black History Month is a year-long endeavour, and it should be as much about the past and the fight for Black dignity as it should be about Black power & light.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Holy cow. As a first person account, I almost find this hard to believe, but there you go, right? This would sell as fiction, but as a true story? Again, I say, "holy cow!" Northrup's heartbreaking account of having been kidnapped, the horrifying nature of his captivity and even his various rebellions and near escapes from it, and his phenomenal ruminations on slave states and masters leave me in utter awe of this man. His story runs the entire range of emotions, even leaving an appropriately small place for some comedy. (I'm thinking of the one guy who can't stop talking about Andrew Jackson.) I wish I had taught this book, for a lot of reasons.
I would feel really, really, really strange saying that I "like" this book, obviously. That said, I think it's important, and even the entertaining aspects of it, I'm sure, helped with its palatability, which, in turn, probably helped with the book's survivability. My feelings after that get a bit complicated. Maybe, I'm just stupid. I don't know. After all, it's one thing to be in awe of a story, but who would want another human being to go through this? Regardless, this should be on every American literature curriculum that even glances toward the 19th century.
I would feel really, really, really strange saying that I "like" this book, obviously. That said, I think it's important, and even the entertaining aspects of it, I'm sure, helped with its palatability, which, in turn, probably helped with the book's survivability. My feelings after that get a bit complicated. Maybe, I'm just stupid. I don't know. After all, it's one thing to be in awe of a story, but who would want another human being to go through this? Regardless, this should be on every American literature curriculum that even glances toward the 19th century.
I thought it was informative and eye opening. While the actual story of his life is incredible, I only gave it three stars because I didn't find it extra gripping or revealing. I understand that part of this is the time in which it was written, where they generally didn't go into the gory details, but it made it feel a little less impactful. I'm glad to have read it, but I likely will not reread.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Northup's journey is an incredible read filled with hope, hatred, despair, and dreams. He recounts his history as a free man living in Saratoga, New York and then describes in detail his kidnapping and subsequent descent into slavery.
He is very articulate and descriptive, providing vivid scenes of his condition and the fate of those around him. This narrative is prone to a fair amount of foreshadowing so don't expect any surprises. It is also a fairly quick read as Northup doesn't hesitate to skip over large sections of his story that "wouldn't interest the reader." This is perhaps my only qualm with the novel, because I believe there was so much more that could be said about his journey.
One of the most amazing parts of this narrative was Northup's ability to understand his masters and overseers mindset. Instead of degrading them as subhuman monsters capable of such cruelty, he acknowledges that white people were raised with slavery all their lives and had never thought to question the wrongness of it because it was all that they had ever known. His willingness to see the situation from their perspective was the most memorable part of the narrative for me.
He is very articulate and descriptive, providing vivid scenes of his condition and the fate of those around him. This narrative is prone to a fair amount of foreshadowing so don't expect any surprises. It is also a fairly quick read as Northup doesn't hesitate to skip over large sections of his story that "wouldn't interest the reader." This is perhaps my only qualm with the novel, because I believe there was so much more that could be said about his journey.
One of the most amazing parts of this narrative was Northup's ability to understand his masters and overseers mindset. Instead of degrading them as subhuman monsters capable of such cruelty, he acknowledges that white people were raised with slavery all their lives and had never thought to question the wrongness of it because it was all that they had ever known. His willingness to see the situation from their perspective was the most memorable part of the narrative for me.