Reviews - Oroonoko: Or, The Royal Slave, A True Story

660 reviews for:

Oroonoko: Or, The Royal Slave, A True Story

I won't lie and say that this is an abolitionist, anti-slavery narrative that the author is trying to push. However, this is as close to any kind of sympathetic and albeit slightly realistic depiction of the horrors that African slaves had to go through. Aphra does paint Prince Oroonoko's story with a lot of "Otherness" and curiosity of how "his" people operate. Very demeaning in the way that white people were back then, but this is to be expected. For what it was, this story was decent. And very emotional.

kables_reads's review against another edition

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Content Warnings

disasterchick's review against another edition

3.0

I would not have read this book except for it having been listed on the 1,001 books to read before you die list. The point that grabbed me the most was it was okay to have slaves won in battle, but wrong to capture to buy and sell. It got me thinking about modern day slavery. We don't really have people owing their soul to the company store anymore, but is it really possible for those of the bottom rung of the ladder can actually move up? It is also interesting how Behn points out his European features and the beauty of Imoinda. This story also confims the statement about not giving your trust but making people earn it.

elizmarshall's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

stagasaurus's review against another edition

I can't do a star rating it is too hard. I read this today so it's all still a bit unprocessed. I'm on a mission to read everything on the OU English degree reading list despite not being part of that course. (Trying to knock a chip off my shouler). So forgive me, I am not properly educated, I am just going to give my thoughts on what I read.

Spoiler

It is a shocking book to me, but not really because of the cruel violence of the British colonialists to the black slaves, which I was painfully expecting. It was the way Behn writes about so many things that are abhorrent in a very matter of fact way, making it obvious they are ordinary parts of life then and there. I always kind of assumed slavery was done in a secret hidden way, the way people use child sweatshop labour in Bangladesh now. But buying and selling of people, rape, war, endless hunting of animals is all presented as very normal.

There is a lot of prejudice without hatred in this book. Ignorance? Like she's saying Oroonoko is gorgeous, but because he doesn't have the features of the typical African. Which is obviously pretty offensive. And he's apparently great because he can speak Spanish and French and knows maths. Which is more than I can say for myself. And Oroonoko has sold hundreds of people as slaves himself. But then they are all delighted when they see him later and bow down to him. I didn't understand that.

So I didn't get the impression that the first person character was against slavery. Just against cruelty to slaves who have Roman noses, are royal and educated.

It made me realise that all societies, even cruel ones, have some sort of moral code, which I'd not really thought of. Like they'd joke about raping a female slave, but whipping an honourable man was a step too far. I'd kind of assumed cruel people had no moral code. I still don't really understand. Maybe I'll come up with more when I've had time to think.