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4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I enjoy books that teach me about an entirely new subject, and this book did just that. I had no idea about the loyalist slaves, their migrations to Nova Scotia and eventual establishment of Freetown, long before the US created Liberia. The story of Aminata was informative, moving and thought provoking. I highly recommend.
Incredible book. It took me a while to actually pick it up off the shelf, and it did have horrific elements to the story, but I fell in love with Aminata and her life journey. It was a moving book and very informative. I did not know very much about the slave trade and the Loyalists that were shipped to Nova Scotia. This story inspired me to learn more.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Yes
There are some books that feel intimidating, so you put off reading them and then always regret putting it off for so long.
This is one of those books.
Beautifully written, this is the heartbreaking and unforgettable story of a woman trying to find her way home.
This is one of those books.
Beautifully written, this is the heartbreaking and unforgettable story of a woman trying to find her way home.
I don't remember where I heard about this book or what prompted me to choose it from my long list of "to-reads" when I was last ordering books, but I loved it! It has been quite awhile since I had time to escape into a great book and during my traveling for Thanksgiving I finally had the opportunity and am so glad this is the one I chose to do so in.
The author tells a vivid tale of a young girl growing up happily in northern Africa in the mid-1700s when she is stolen by slave traders and brought across the Atlantic to South Carolina. She lives an extraordinary life, so full of hardships and devastation but also of hope and good fortune. I loved Aminata, the main character. She was brave, intelligent, loving, independent, loyal and sometimes too trusting. I found myself constantly thinking about her even when I wasn't reading it. Even though she is a fictional character, I know similar people existed and my heart broke for her as a young girl alone on the slave ship, again as she faced injustices time and time again, and the most when her family continued to be torn from her life.
It made me think a lot about the complex history of the slave trade from Africa. Could it have been prevented? Could it have stopped sooner? What would Africa have been like had it never been exploited? What would the history in our own country have been like had it all gone differently? Could the settlements in Africa where freed slaves were brought back been set up in a way that would have eased the transition? Liberia is still such a disaster now and it seems we should have learned something from those early settlements in Sierra Leone.
I SO wish I could suggest this book for my book club because I think the discussion could be amazing! There are just a couple moments that I think may be a bit too much for some of our members, even though the author did a good job of handling them in a delicate way. I am sure much of the truth from that time was much worse.
My favorite review says, "A magnificent, epic novel...Aminata Diallo is one of the great heroines of modern literature, and her story is not only heartstopping and brutal, but also one of great humanity."
The author tells a vivid tale of a young girl growing up happily in northern Africa in the mid-1700s when she is stolen by slave traders and brought across the Atlantic to South Carolina. She lives an extraordinary life, so full of hardships and devastation but also of hope and good fortune. I loved Aminata, the main character. She was brave, intelligent, loving, independent, loyal and sometimes too trusting. I found myself constantly thinking about her even when I wasn't reading it. Even though she is a fictional character, I know similar people existed and my heart broke for her as a young girl alone on the slave ship, again as she faced injustices time and time again, and the most when her family continued to be torn from her life.
It made me think a lot about the complex history of the slave trade from Africa. Could it have been prevented? Could it have stopped sooner? What would Africa have been like had it never been exploited? What would the history in our own country have been like had it all gone differently? Could the settlements in Africa where freed slaves were brought back been set up in a way that would have eased the transition? Liberia is still such a disaster now and it seems we should have learned something from those early settlements in Sierra Leone.
I SO wish I could suggest this book for my book club because I think the discussion could be amazing! There are just a couple moments that I think may be a bit too much for some of our members, even though the author did a good job of handling them in a delicate way. I am sure much of the truth from that time was much worse.
My favorite review says, "A magnificent, epic novel...Aminata Diallo is one of the great heroines of modern literature, and her story is not only heartstopping and brutal, but also one of great humanity."
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
This was SOOOO good! I read it for a bookclub and I even kept it a couple days too long from the library because I just had to finish it. It was an epic tale of one woman's life. It is a big read but reads quickly and keeps you hooked and wanting to know more and more and more. I learned so much about parts of the slave trade that I had never known and saw the trans-Atlantic relationships through an entirely new lens. Highly recommend.
This book was an intriguing epic novel about one woman's journey from her village across Africa, her journey continues across the sea to America, to Nova Scotia and beyond. Aminata is an intelligent, brave and wondrous character. This novel should be mandatory reading for every human being. It was simply marvelous and I was so sad for it to end.