A review by meowlvika
Afro-American Folktales by Roger D. Abrahams

3.0

I actually enjoyed the stories, not enough to go wow, but I did end up chuckling every now and then. I especially loved the authors short note at the beginning of each section. I also love their portrayal of both the God and the Trickster, and the idea of how God becomes the God of only the white men. It sort of throws light upon the prevalant racism. I feel like the tales themselves highlight the marginalisation and the poor treatment of the blacks in the post war America. And then that one story where the old master tells his slave that it is not fire but evaporated something(?), that chapter reminded me of Beloved(by Morrison).

I also felt that a couple of stories were somewhat similar to the fables(Aesops to be precise) I have read and I think the author mentioned that the stories themselves borrow heavily from the European folklores. There aren't any striking references to the folktales of Africa, minus Anansi perhaps? Certain ideas do find their way into the tales but I still feel that it is more americanized.

If I don't make sense then I am terribly sorry. It is pretty late here and I am actually quite sleepy. But yeah. The book, I'd definitely recommend it. Although I would definitely suggest reading other folklores as well.