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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Was too upsetting to continue reading during this period of time in my life
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley and Open Road Media.
The best new television show for the 2015-2016 year is Underground. Shown on the WGN network, the series is about a group of slaves in the 1850s trying to escape. At times the show, as most television shows do, stretch the bounds of believability (how is one slave such a good shot despite never using a gun before, would those two people really be brothers, and how is that geography working for you?), yet the show is one that everyone should watch. It really does confront the evils of slavery head, including the white slave owner allowing the whipping of his mixed race child while the young woman’s mother looks on (this series also handles rape extremely well). Some of the criticism that show has garnered as also been on the lines of why you are bringing this up now.
Sometimes, I can’t deal with stupid (or worse) people.
The reason why I bring this up is that Open Road Media has re-issued Paula Fox’s Slave Dancer in kindle format.
Slave Dancer tells the story of a young boy, Jessie, who is shanghaied onto a slave ship. This ship transports slaves, illegally. Jessie’s job is to get the slaves to dance by playing music. This isn’t because the captain wants the slaves to be happy, but because he wants the slave to arrive looking fit or at least worth playing.
Perhaps the kidnapping aspect is a bit contrived and its use to make Jessie, who lives in New Orleans, a more sympathetic character than he otherwise, would be. Perhaps, but despite this, the story itself is still powerful. Fox does not pull her punches. Jessie’s trip is horrifying. In many ways, Fox follows in Twain’s tradition footsteps. If Huck Finn is about a boy raised in the slave holding South who learns to see a slave as a man, as a de facto father, then Fox‘s book is about a boy’s discovering of a conscious. The trip destroys as opposed to answer’s Jessie’s obsession with slavery trading, something that he was pushed away from as a child in New Orleans. His journey to objecting about slavery, something he only had curiosity about before, also seems to mirror that of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
And this is why this children’s book is important - we need to know the past and comfort it. But we need to know it in its true form (or as true as we can get). To simply say slave or enslaved doesn’t capture what happened. And this book is a work of fiction, true. But fiction, in some ways, has the power to show truth in a way that non-fiction doesn’t.
The best new television show for the 2015-2016 year is Underground. Shown on the WGN network, the series is about a group of slaves in the 1850s trying to escape. At times the show, as most television shows do, stretch the bounds of believability (how is one slave such a good shot despite never using a gun before, would those two people really be brothers, and how is that geography working for you?), yet the show is one that everyone should watch. It really does confront the evils of slavery head, including the white slave owner allowing the whipping of his mixed race child while the young woman’s mother looks on (this series also handles rape extremely well). Some of the criticism that show has garnered as also been on the lines of why you are bringing this up now.
Sometimes, I can’t deal with stupid (or worse) people.
The reason why I bring this up is that Open Road Media has re-issued Paula Fox’s Slave Dancer in kindle format.
Slave Dancer tells the story of a young boy, Jessie, who is shanghaied onto a slave ship. This ship transports slaves, illegally. Jessie’s job is to get the slaves to dance by playing music. This isn’t because the captain wants the slaves to be happy, but because he wants the slave to arrive looking fit or at least worth playing.
Perhaps the kidnapping aspect is a bit contrived and its use to make Jessie, who lives in New Orleans, a more sympathetic character than he otherwise, would be. Perhaps, but despite this, the story itself is still powerful. Fox does not pull her punches. Jessie’s trip is horrifying. In many ways, Fox follows in Twain’s tradition footsteps. If Huck Finn is about a boy raised in the slave holding South who learns to see a slave as a man, as a de facto father, then Fox‘s book is about a boy’s discovering of a conscious. The trip destroys as opposed to answer’s Jessie’s obsession with slavery trading, something that he was pushed away from as a child in New Orleans. His journey to objecting about slavery, something he only had curiosity about before, also seems to mirror that of Harriet Beecher Stowe.
And this is why this children’s book is important - we need to know the past and comfort it. But we need to know it in its true form (or as true as we can get). To simply say slave or enslaved doesn’t capture what happened. And this book is a work of fiction, true. But fiction, in some ways, has the power to show truth in a way that non-fiction doesn’t.
For my Newbery summer...this was a affecting, brutal story about a white boy abducted from New Orleans by slavers who is made to play his fife to "dance" the African slaves in the hold of the ship. What a story.
I read this as a kid once, a few years back, and I remember I hadn't liked it. I had found the writing to be dry and boring, and I couldn't understand much of what was happening, yet somehow it was particularly memorable. Thus, I decided to pick it up again.
It was a much better experience this time round. The author clearly did her research, and put in effort in to give us a glimpse of the horrors of slave trade through the eyes of Jessie. The writing was good, and it set the atmosphere for the story, a kind of realness and sadness that lasted throughout the book.
What I liked about The Slave Dancer was that it was shown through the eyes of a white boy. We saw the struggles he had as he tried to understand the sailors' conflicting nature of their actions, and as he saw the horrors of what happened on slave ships. It amplified the gruesomeness felt by the reader, in a way, to be a spectator like he was.
It was interesting, though no less depressing, how the sailors continued to follow the Captain's orders, despite their misgivings about him and the whole trade.
It left me confused as to what I should feel for some of the characters, probably much like how Jessie had felt. I keep hoping for a kind of clarity for their actions and words, but there was never really one.
Nevertheless, these strange actions made them seem human, or at least, become more than just characters in a book. And I liked that, for some inexplicable reason. It made me continue to be glued to the book, and it didn't cross my mind once to give up reading it.
However, there were times where I couldn't really picture what the protagonist was describing. I know I would've been very confused over the point of the slaves dancing, had I not watched Twelve Years A Slave before and had an idea of what it was like. It was only with some prior knowledge of the circumstances and setting of the story - that I hadn't had when I first read the book - did I fully manage to appreciate the story.
So yes, The Slave Dancer was enjoyable, memorable, and worth rereading. I'd recommend it to anyone, though it might be more suited to young adults instead of children, based on my previous experience. And I'll definitely be on the lookout for Ms Fox's other works.
It was a much better experience this time round. The author clearly did her research, and put in effort in to give us a glimpse of the horrors of slave trade through the eyes of Jessie. The writing was good, and it set the atmosphere for the story, a kind of realness and sadness that lasted throughout the book.
What I liked about The Slave Dancer was that it was shown through the eyes of a white boy. We saw the struggles he had as he tried to understand the sailors' conflicting nature of their actions, and as he saw the horrors of what happened on slave ships. It amplified the gruesomeness felt by the reader, in a way, to be a spectator like he was.
It was interesting, though no less depressing, how the sailors continued to follow the Captain's orders, despite their misgivings about him and the whole trade.
Spoiler
They'd give the African children portions of their own rationed water and make toys to play with them, yet when their ship was being pursued by the Americans and the Captain yelled at them to toss the Africans overboard, they didn't hesitate to do so.It left me confused as to what I should feel for some of the characters, probably much like how Jessie had felt. I keep hoping for a kind of clarity for their actions and words, but there was never really one.
Spoiler
Especially for Ben Stout. I'd known he'd be getting what he deserved in the end, but I'd been so sure that there'd be a moment when Jessie saw a reason for his cruelty, and why he always spoke so seemingly kindly to him at the start. And the Captain. Why the hell did he give Jessie those biscuits? What was the point of showing us that? It feels like there's supposed to be one, but I can't get it.Nevertheless, these strange actions made them seem human, or at least, become more than just characters in a book. And I liked that, for some inexplicable reason. It made me continue to be glued to the book, and it didn't cross my mind once to give up reading it.
However, there were times where I couldn't really picture what the protagonist was describing. I know I would've been very confused over the point of the slaves dancing, had I not watched Twelve Years A Slave before and had an idea of what it was like. It was only with some prior knowledge of the circumstances and setting of the story - that I hadn't had when I first read the book - did I fully manage to appreciate the story.
So yes, The Slave Dancer was enjoyable, memorable, and worth rereading. I'd recommend it to anyone, though it might be more suited to young adults instead of children, based on my previous experience. And I'll definitely be on the lookout for Ms Fox's other works.
3.5. Stars lack precision :(
I enjoyed the story, but it didn't wow. I do think it's an important piece of our history that students should hear.
I enjoyed the story, but it didn't wow. I do think it's an important piece of our history that students should hear.
Newbery Challenge 149/412 This book gets points for a unique historical perspective. Jessie, a young boy, is kidnapped in New Orleans and forced into employ on a slave ship. His job is to play his pipe while the slaves "dance" to keep their muscles strong. This story helps relate the brutality and hardship endured by people captured in Africa and brought to North America to be sold as slaves in a way that is memorable and appropriate for middle grades audiences. The plot takes an unbelievable turn towards the end in order to give it a satisfactory ending. Recommend.
I loved to hate this book. It brought so many emotions that made me feel so happy, sad, and mad. What I also liked about this book was that Paula went into the detail of this time period, which made me feel like I was right there with Jessie, and experiencing the heart-break. This book was a fantastically horrifying -yet awesome- tale of survival, and deserves 5 stars.
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oof. What a book. I remember being horrified during the storm scene when I was younger. I knew slavery existed and was bad, but I think that was the first time I realised how bad it truly was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Read for Newberry Challenge - 1974 winner. I'm having a tough time rating this. On the one hand I found it to be an absolute page-turner which is saying something for Newberry winners, and it did not shy away from the horrors of a slave ship showing the realities faced upon them. On the other I'm not sure a white boys point of view is the story that needs telling. The characters in this are extremely 1-dimensional with most being evil instead of gray. You will read the entire book with a knot in your stomach of all that is described.
It was ok. Very sad and disturbing subject matter. I wish I had been able to "know" the main character a little better. The ending wasn't what I expected, it was good but still kind of sad.