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2.84 AVERAGE
2.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I had to read this book for my English course. It was interesting but I felt as though there was evident racism and a minor white savior complex throughout the book. Behn also went on some pretty extreme tangents that made me lose focus. The romance and the action packed parts were the only things that kept me really interested in the book.
Read for university via the audiobook, didn't really enjoy it. Especially as I am now studying it and know what is wrong with this.
This story was really well written but it is also very triggering! Don’t go into it blind or expecting good things to happen!
While having no expectations for this novel, and not enjoying my last encounter with a book written from this time period, I figured it'd be a quick read. However, I was instantly sucked in and enjoyed it immensely. There were no happy endings in this book, and it makes me happy that a woman could write such gruesome scenes. Good book if you want something quick.
I feel like this is one of those books that everyone just needs to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was so good!
“A poet is a painter in his way, he draws to the life, but in another kind; we draw the nobler part, the soul and the mind; the pictures of the pen shall outlast those of the pencil, and even worlds themselves.”
Oroonoko is the handsome grandson of an African King, who falls in love with the beautiful Imoinda. The only problem is, that on seeing Imoinda, the King wants her to be *his* mistress - and in the African culture of the day, to refuse the King warranted death. So Imoinda becomes a plaything of the King, much to Oroonoko's distress, with the two younger lovers trying to "fix" secret trysts via Oroonoko's friend Aboan and Imoinda's duenna Onahal. However, during a dance one night Imoinda stumbles and falls into the arms of Oroonoko, which whips the King up into jealousy, and he sends Oroonoko off into slavery, as well as Imoinda - but he sends her away separately and tells Oroonoko that she has died.
The novel then relates the years that Oroonoko spends in slavery - although he doesn't actually become a slave himself - where his name is changed to Caesar. Some of the language towards the end of the book is very graphic, but it all builds up in a crescendo fashion towards its tragic end.
The most striking thing to me about this book is how Oroonoko has gone from an almost Achilles perfection of looks and character at the start of the novel to the crumbled mess of a man at the very end.
From:
"His face was not of that brown rusty black which most of that nation are, but of perfect ebony, or polished jet. His eyes were the most awful that could be seen, and very piercing; the white of 'em being like snow, as were his teeth. His nose was rising and Roman, instead of African and flat. His mouth the finest shaped that could be seen; far from those great turned lips which are so natural to the rest of the negroes. The whole proportion and air of his face was so nobly and exactly formed that, bating his colour, there could be nothing in nature more beautiful, agreeable and handsome"
To:
"...if before we thought him so beautiful a sight, he was now so altered that his face was like a death's-head blacked over, nothing but teeth and eye-holes.."
Aphra Behn wrote this novel at the time of the English Restoration - and in fact she was the first woman ever to make a living out of writing novels, poems, short stories and plays; having been forced into debt by slow payments by Charles II for her work as a spy. I did find this book very hard-going at times, not helped by the very long sentences. Anthony Powell uses extremely long sentences in his epic "Dances to the Music of Time" novels, but they are among the best sentences in literature that I have read. Behn's long sentences left me feeling a bit confused at times, I must admit - especially when I was reading this book when tired. Race is a big issue in this book, with the author, narrating this tale from a white female's perspective, showing a lot of sympathy for the black slaves - stating that even if they worked hard, they would still be whipped by their white masters, after a hard day of work.
If I hadn't had to have read this book for my English degree, I would never have considered reading it - but I am so glad I have now. It's a real eye-opener, with some great characters. What I found most amazing of all is that this piece of work was among those categorised as early day "chick-lit"!
Oroonoko is the handsome grandson of an African King, who falls in love with the beautiful Imoinda. The only problem is, that on seeing Imoinda, the King wants her to be *his* mistress - and in the African culture of the day, to refuse the King warranted death. So Imoinda becomes a plaything of the King, much to Oroonoko's distress, with the two younger lovers trying to "fix" secret trysts via Oroonoko's friend Aboan and Imoinda's duenna Onahal. However, during a dance one night Imoinda stumbles and falls into the arms of Oroonoko, which whips the King up into jealousy, and he sends Oroonoko off into slavery, as well as Imoinda - but he sends her away separately and tells Oroonoko that she has died.
The novel then relates the years that Oroonoko spends in slavery - although he doesn't actually become a slave himself - where his name is changed to Caesar. Some of the language towards the end of the book is very graphic, but it all builds up in a crescendo fashion towards its tragic end.
The most striking thing to me about this book is how Oroonoko has gone from an almost Achilles perfection of looks and character at the start of the novel to the crumbled mess of a man at the very end.
From:
"His face was not of that brown rusty black which most of that nation are, but of perfect ebony, or polished jet. His eyes were the most awful that could be seen, and very piercing; the white of 'em being like snow, as were his teeth. His nose was rising and Roman, instead of African and flat. His mouth the finest shaped that could be seen; far from those great turned lips which are so natural to the rest of the negroes. The whole proportion and air of his face was so nobly and exactly formed that, bating his colour, there could be nothing in nature more beautiful, agreeable and handsome"
To:
"...if before we thought him so beautiful a sight, he was now so altered that his face was like a death's-head blacked over, nothing but teeth and eye-holes.."
Aphra Behn wrote this novel at the time of the English Restoration - and in fact she was the first woman ever to make a living out of writing novels, poems, short stories and plays; having been forced into debt by slow payments by Charles II for her work as a spy. I did find this book very hard-going at times, not helped by the very long sentences. Anthony Powell uses extremely long sentences in his epic "Dances to the Music of Time" novels, but they are among the best sentences in literature that I have read. Behn's long sentences left me feeling a bit confused at times, I must admit - especially when I was reading this book when tired. Race is a big issue in this book, with the author, narrating this tale from a white female's perspective, showing a lot of sympathy for the black slaves - stating that even if they worked hard, they would still be whipped by their white masters, after a hard day of work.
If I hadn't had to have read this book for my English degree, I would never have considered reading it - but I am so glad I have now. It's a real eye-opener, with some great characters. What I found most amazing of all is that this piece of work was among those categorised as early day "chick-lit"!