A review by amjammi
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

4.0

I think this book can be read a few different ways, but I'm choosing to read it like this: Wash's life starts as a slave narrative (like you've maybe read before, but with some truly incandescent prose) and then it takes a dramatic turn where he lives an incredible life of global adventures, scientific discovery, and improbable coincidences. And it's fun to read (even if pervasive racism is still present). And not quite like anything you've read before. But even Wash can't reconcile the contradictory aspects of his identity and the final portion of the book reflects his attempts to find his own space in a world of well-meaning white people who too often fail to understand his humanity.