A review by jersy
Bug-Jargal by Victor Hugo

4.0

This book made me feel a bit uncomfortable and I think in this case it's a good thing. It is written from the POV of someone very much of his time and while he, at his time, might be seen as a good person and doesn't like the cruelty against slaves, he is still very flawed, seeing these people as less than him and only manages to respect one of them after extreme acts of kindness. Whenever the former slaves spoke, I saw how the author portrays their feelings and motives very sympatheticly, however since the narrator others and despises them, the racism shown will be just too much for some readers. The edition I read had been edited by the author later in life but he wrote it at 16, and I think some aspects would have been handled better by an older Victor Hugo, but I could still respect the intention and already very impressive writing of this debut.
With that out of the way, it was a really compelling story and I kind of like narratives told in flashback. It was a window into the past and I just enjoy the author's prose a lot.