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A review by alongreader
Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle
4.0
I'll be honest: I didn't know the British had kept slaves in the Caribbean. I should have guessed, as they kept them everywhere else, but I'd never heard of it before. That's why this book is so important, of course; just as British schoolchildren don't learn about the Irish Famine, they undoubtedly don't learn about this either, and they should.
Be warned that the speech is rendered almost phonetically, and if, like me, you have trouble with dialect, it might be tough for you. If the whole book had been written that way, I might have had to give up, but as it's only speech and the occasional thought, I pushed through.
The treatment Moa and his fellow slaves receive is abominable, and the notes at the end make things even worse. I won't spoil it for you. I'd love to see this as a school novel; I think it could really do with being taught and studied. (It won't be, of course, because of the violence, but I would love it.)
This is a read that, while I can't say I enjoyed it, I'm very glad I read.
Be warned that the speech is rendered almost phonetically, and if, like me, you have trouble with dialect, it might be tough for you. If the whole book had been written that way, I might have had to give up, but as it's only speech and the occasional thought, I pushed through.
The treatment Moa and his fellow slaves receive is abominable, and the notes at the end make things even worse. I won't spoil it for you. I'd love to see this as a school novel; I think it could really do with being taught and studied. (It won't be, of course, because of the violence, but I would love it.)
This is a read that, while I can't say I enjoyed it, I'm very glad I read.