Scan barcode
A review by joypouros
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The book follows an African born former slave who, now near the end of her life, is telling her life story to help the abolitionists.
She was born in Bayo Africa, kidnapped at age 11, forced to march for three months to the harbor where she is sent via slave ship to the Americas.
There, she is sold to an indigo plantation, then to a Jewish indigo inspector. On a trip to New York with her owner, she runs away. During the American Revolution, she aligns with the loyalists who promise freedom, but when Britain loses she must join the exodus to other British territories and ends up in Nova Scotia.
When promises go unfulfilled there, she takes an opportunity to go back to Africa as a free community in Sierra Leon.
Throughout, she tries to reunite with her husband and the children who are stolen from her. It is a heartbreaking life, yet she is among the more fortunate slaves because she came into bondage with useful skills that make her valuable and easy to trade with.
The book offers an educating and fascinating perspective of the slave trade and American Revolution. It has a pleasant writing style.
She was born in Bayo Africa, kidnapped at age 11, forced to march for three months to the harbor where she is sent via slave ship to the Americas.
There, she is sold to an indigo plantation, then to a Jewish indigo inspector. On a trip to New York with her owner, she runs away. During the American Revolution, she aligns with the loyalists who promise freedom, but when Britain loses she must join the exodus to other British territories and ends up in Nova Scotia.
When promises go unfulfilled there, she takes an opportunity to go back to Africa as a free community in Sierra Leon.
Throughout, she tries to reunite with her husband and the children who are stolen from her. It is a heartbreaking life, yet she is among the more fortunate slaves because she came into bondage with useful skills that make her valuable and easy to trade with.
The book offers an educating and fascinating perspective of the slave trade and American Revolution. It has a pleasant writing style.