Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved the first 2/3. The last 100 or so pages were unbelievable, hard to get immersed in, and exhausting.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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:
No
up until truly inexplicable events in the arctic this was going to be a 5 star, all time favourite for me and now i am honestly very upset about this
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a Christmas present from my eldest son, who is reading it and wants to chat with me about it. (Book club? Homework?)
It is in the genre of "slave fiction," in which the story revolves around a slave's life or escape or life after slavery. For example: Underground Airlines, Underground Railroad, Beloved, The Water Dancer, Kindred, James, Lincoln in the Bardo. Some of these are genius literature, some are closer to genre. Washington Black falls closer to the genre label.
What Edugyan includes that seldom gets examined is the role of white abolitionists--their tangled motivations, their personal ambivalence, their betrayals of individuals for the larger cause. The novel is written in first person from the perspective of a young black man looking back on about the last dozen years of his life. The brutality of his condition as a slave cutting cane on Barbados is somewhat relieved when he is "lent" to a scientist who wishes to use him for ballast in an airship he is designing; the scientist finds that Wash is capable of being a great assistant, and comes to lean on him and educate him, and eventually help him flee from the likelihood of torture and death when Wash witnesses a white man's suicide and will be blamed for it. The scientist supports Wash in escaping, though in doing so, eventually abandons him as well. Wash comes to question what he has meant to Titch, his benefactor; he seeks a meeting and reconciliation. In the meantime, Wash is able to parlay his knowledge of the natural world, his drawing skills, and the scientific information he gained working for Titch into a truly remarkable project, albeit one that can only be realized under the name of a prominent white naturalist. The question of true freedom is asked throughout the story, in multiple circumstances.
It is in the genre of "slave fiction," in which the story revolves around a slave's life or escape or life after slavery. For example: Underground Airlines, Underground Railroad, Beloved, The Water Dancer, Kindred, James, Lincoln in the Bardo. Some of these are genius literature, some are closer to genre. Washington Black falls closer to the genre label.
What Edugyan includes that seldom gets examined is the role of white abolitionists--their tangled motivations, their personal ambivalence, their betrayals of individuals for the larger cause. The novel is written in first person from the perspective of a young black man looking back on about the last dozen years of his life. The brutality of his condition as a slave cutting cane on Barbados is somewhat relieved when he is "lent" to a scientist who wishes to use him for ballast in an airship he is designing; the scientist finds that Wash is capable of being a great assistant, and comes to lean on him and educate him, and eventually help him flee from the likelihood of torture and death when Wash witnesses a white man's suicide and will be blamed for it. The scientist supports Wash in escaping, though in doing so, eventually abandons him as well. Wash comes to question what he has meant to Titch, his benefactor; he seeks a meeting and reconciliation. In the meantime, Wash is able to parlay his knowledge of the natural world, his drawing skills, and the scientific information he gained working for Titch into a truly remarkable project, albeit one that can only be realized under the name of a prominent white naturalist. The question of true freedom is asked throughout the story, in multiple circumstances.
adventurous
challenging
reflective
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
Great writing. Felt like a string of beads: some parts of the narrative were thinner, some were more in depth--some of Wash's life was skipped over that I wish hadn't been, but I could see why it was condensed so. This book is definitely worth reading to examine the moments of Wash's life he dwells on, what he learns about himself and others, etc. rather than as an adventure novel (though there are some fun Jules Verne vibes going on)--focus on the characters, not the plot, and you'll have a good time.
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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