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A review by keishasliterarylabyrinth
The Freedom Race by Lucinda Roy
3.0
Let me preface my opinion by stating that this book is not a leisure book. This is a literary text meant to be analyzed by literary studies students as a case study in speculative fiction. If you read this book for any other purpose, you will be frustrated. If you enjoy challenging books, not in the vocabulary, but in the world-building, the integration of multiple genres in one text, and an alternate future of the Black experience in America, then this is the book for you.
That being said, I enjoyed this book, specifically because of the complexity of world-building and its impacts on individual characters. Sila, the main character’s mom, and Lotter deserve at least two academic articles detailing the psychological effects of slavery on female slaves, the imbalanced master/ slave dynamics, and toxic masculinity/ patriarchal leadership.
The book does seem top-heavy, incredibly complicated, and then kind of thrown together towards the end. I found out that the book is part of a trilogy. I don’t think three books is necessary, maybe a strong duology. Also, the title. Needs to change. The actual freedom race is a minor part of the book and it isn’t her only option out of slavery by the halfway point of the book.
That being said, I enjoyed this book, specifically because of the complexity of world-building and its impacts on individual characters. Sila, the main character’s mom, and Lotter deserve at least two academic articles detailing the psychological effects of slavery on female slaves, the imbalanced master/ slave dynamics, and toxic masculinity/ patriarchal leadership.
The book does seem top-heavy, incredibly complicated, and then kind of thrown together towards the end. I found out that the book is part of a trilogy. I don’t think three books is necessary, maybe a strong duology. Also, the title. Needs to change. The actual freedom race is a minor part of the book and it isn’t her only option out of slavery by the halfway point of the book.