3.92 AVERAGE


The brutal story of Washington born a slave in Barbados on the plantation Hope. His fate changed over and over as his life was moved from one place to another against his will. Beautifully written and the audiobook was gloriously read. 
emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

3,5* misschien

Boeken over slavernij zijn kennelijk hot realiseer ik me - mijn derde boek over dit onderwerp het afgelopen jaar. Allemaal via andere bronnen op de leeslijst belandt, dat wel. Dit is van de drie de minste, al begint het goed: jongetje op wrede plantage wordt, met name door zijn gewicht, door broer van plantage-eigenaar uitgekozen in te assisteren bij het bouwen van een luchtballon. Waarna in de eerste helft een soort road movie ontstaat die eindigt op de Noordpool...

Tweede helft van het boek is wat filisofischer, als de jongen wat ouder is en zich meer over zijn verleden en het waarom van zijn uitverkiezing gaat nadenken.

Goed geschreven, daar niet van (Booker-prize shortlist tenslotte), maar minder aansprekend dan de eerdere boeken over dit onderwerp.
adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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

2.5 maybe
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Enjoyed the beginning but felt lost in the middle. I had a hard time seeing where things were headed and understanding the ultimate goal as Wash teetered from one thing to the next. After meeting Tanna, things pick up again but I still found myself pushing to get to the end. 

Started off well, then got weirder and weirder and then just plain ridiculous for a while. I wanted to love it but the annoying characters got in my way. Titch and Washington (lead characters) drove me nuts with their inability to talk to each other or say what they mean or ask each other the burning questions they apparently desperately want to ask. Sigh.
adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes