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2.84 AVERAGE
2.84 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
I had to read this book for a post-colonial lit class, and it left me with mixed feelings. I have to give credit to the writer, especially since she supposedly wrote it when she was 16-17 (???). Not only was it a significant work since it was one of the first published novels, and she made her living as a writer, but also it dealt with the subject of slavery well before anybody else thought of dealing with it. But I definitely had problems with her style of writing. And I seriously doubt she ever set foot in Surinam. To me it seemed like she was writing this account as an armchair traveler, which were very popular at the time. It is okay as a work of fiction, but she wrote it as a true account which just doesn't fly for me. But while I was reading the story, it did involve me emotionally, which is why I gave it 2 stars.
This book was a nice read up until the last third. Though it is a very racist narrative, as most were when it was written, it was very well done. If I had not had to dissect it for literature class I don't think I'd enjoy it as much.
I read books for several purposes, such as:
- learning stuff
- understanding life
- understanding the human nature
- feeling so taken by a book that the rest of the world doesn't matter anymore and I can just read my book whenever I feel bad.
I have to admit that this book gave me none of that. It was interesting yes, about the different cultures described in the book. About human nature, religion, lies, and esclavage. But I have to compare it with other books, which maybe were written later in History but were actually better, such as Jules Verne for the different cultures across the world and Uncle Tom's cabin about slavery.
This may be a revolutionary work for the era in which it was written but for me, today, it was not that good. I can say that the author must have helped people, and contributed to the denunciation of the atrocity of slavery but it could have been better.
It was not enough touching and even if, as a romantic, I loved every sentence about love and passion, it was not enough and felt like poetry. But if I want to read beautiful words about love and passion I can just take Shakespeare and that will be enough.
So a good work for the 17th century, a good debut for the criticism and denunciation of slavery, but not enough for me to be really interested.
- learning stuff
- understanding life
- understanding the human nature
- feeling so taken by a book that the rest of the world doesn't matter anymore and I can just read my book whenever I feel bad.
I have to admit that this book gave me none of that. It was interesting yes, about the different cultures described in the book. About human nature, religion, lies, and esclavage. But I have to compare it with other books, which maybe were written later in History but were actually better, such as Jules Verne for the different cultures across the world and Uncle Tom's cabin about slavery.
This may be a revolutionary work for the era in which it was written but for me, today, it was not that good. I can say that the author must have helped people, and contributed to the denunciation of the atrocity of slavery but it could have been better.
It was not enough touching and even if, as a romantic, I loved every sentence about love and passion, it was not enough and felt like poetry. But if I want to read beautiful words about love and passion I can just take Shakespeare and that will be enough.
So a good work for the 17th century, a good debut for the criticism and denunciation of slavery, but not enough for me to be really interested.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Aphra Behn's Oroonoko is theorized in style and format to possibly be one of the first novels in English, connecting the worlds of Europe, Africa, and America in a tale that is common in plot but uncommon in character. Written by the so-called "bad girl" of her time, Behn's novel explores firs the foreign world of Coramantien and its royalty. The title character of the Royal Prince then finds himself with soldiers and war captains with the natives of Surinam, and then with its colonists. Separated in different social classes, the main character, who is black, is deemed royalty in one world, and slave in another.
This is just one the main dualities presented in this text. Race, social class, gender, age, life and death all play a part in this manuscript. The interesting story makes definite commentary on the role of women and of religion as shown by the contrast in cultures. Oroonoko, while not an immediately likable character in his stoicism, is given the effect of reader appeal through the other characters in the text. His love interest, Imoinda, shines.
Dismissed during its publishing as vulgar and sensational because of the author's "warm" attitude toward sexuality and violence, Oroonoko is now placed among the treasures of British literature. Its value as a story, a novel, and a commentary of social life and slavery is highly valuable.
Oroonoko is one of the only known novels written by this author, who has yet to be fully discovered and publicized. For a long while, Behn was negatively criticized for both her work and her social life outside of her writing. She was also notorious for her torrid relationships with other well-known people of her time, and for working a provocative job as a spy. She changed the definition of feminine in presenting works where women are objects subjugated to male carnal desire, and punished for going outside this subjugated sphere. She champions the female as a deliberately sexual being who is punished for being so. Other works of hers include a large work of poetry that is slowly finding its way into mainstream literature anthologies. Her contributions to both prose and poetry have contributed greatly to feminism and to literature.
This is just one the main dualities presented in this text. Race, social class, gender, age, life and death all play a part in this manuscript. The interesting story makes definite commentary on the role of women and of religion as shown by the contrast in cultures. Oroonoko, while not an immediately likable character in his stoicism, is given the effect of reader appeal through the other characters in the text. His love interest, Imoinda, shines.
Dismissed during its publishing as vulgar and sensational because of the author's "warm" attitude toward sexuality and violence, Oroonoko is now placed among the treasures of British literature. Its value as a story, a novel, and a commentary of social life and slavery is highly valuable.
Oroonoko is one of the only known novels written by this author, who has yet to be fully discovered and publicized. For a long while, Behn was negatively criticized for both her work and her social life outside of her writing. She was also notorious for her torrid relationships with other well-known people of her time, and for working a provocative job as a spy. She changed the definition of feminine in presenting works where women are objects subjugated to male carnal desire, and punished for going outside this subjugated sphere. She champions the female as a deliberately sexual being who is punished for being so. Other works of hers include a large work of poetry that is slowly finding its way into mainstream literature anthologies. Her contributions to both prose and poetry have contributed greatly to feminism and to literature.
Troubling and gory, Oroonoko's tragic fate will haunt the modern reader in this hallmark of early writing from a female author.