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A review by serendipitysbooks
A More Perfect Union by Tammye Huf
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
A More Perfect Union was a really solid, enjoyable read. At first glance it was a standard “slave story” for want of a better term. Novels that centre on enslaved peoples in the American South understandably have a lot in common and I come close to thinking I’ve read my fill of them. This one, however, had a couple of unique points of interest. The first is that it centred on a romance, based on a true story from the author’s own family, between Sarah, an enslaved woman and Henry, a free white man, a migrant from Ireland who came to work on the plantation as a freelance blacksmith.
The other aspect of this novel that especially interested me was the links it made between the treatment of the Irish by the English, especially around the time of the famine, and the treatment of enslaved Blacks. Obviously the Irish were treated appalling by the English and also faced discrimination in America. Yet their situation in no way compares to the reality of being enslaved. I loved how the author had Henry, perhaps understandably, make some comparisons early in the novel, then had Sarah push back and point out the reality of her situation and how it differed fundamentally from what he had experienced, and how Henry came to see the truth of this himself. An example of real character growth.
There’s more to the book than this but these are two of the factors that made it stand it to me.
The other aspect of this novel that especially interested me was the links it made between the treatment of the Irish by the English, especially around the time of the famine, and the treatment of enslaved Blacks. Obviously the Irish were treated appalling by the English and also faced discrimination in America. Yet their situation in no way compares to the reality of being enslaved. I loved how the author had Henry, perhaps understandably, make some comparisons early in the novel, then had Sarah push back and point out the reality of her situation and how it differed fundamentally from what he had experienced, and how Henry came to see the truth of this himself. An example of real character growth.
There’s more to the book than this but these are two of the factors that made it stand it to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence