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A review by mamthew42
Begin the World Over by Kung Li Sun
5.0
Begin the World Over is a work of historical fiction that avoids the genre term, advertising itself instead as a counterfactual novel about history as it should have been. Despite that phrasing, the novel is pretty at home with most works of historical fiction I've read. It's impeccably researched and while many of the events aren't true, quite a few of them are. I've read self-professed historical fiction that took much more creative liberty than this book and didn't bother apologizing for it. That said, I have talked a lot with Historian friends about the problem of ethical historical fiction. It's easy for poorly researched or even purposely misleading historical fiction to form the basis for the popular understanding of a specific time, place, person, or culture, so I appreciate Sun's willingness to state up front that people shouldn't allow their book to do that for them.
Most of the characters of the novel are based on real historical figures. James Hemings, the very first French-trained American chef, who was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson and who - I learned yesterday - invented motherfucking macaroni and cheese, is the book's initial protagonist, accidentally joining a pirate crew and opening a restaurant in New Orleans. The pirate captain, Denmark, is another historical figure and protagonist, as is Romaine, a trans prophetess who led a Haitian slave revolt. Every character is an absolute treat, and unlike in most novels with several narrators, I was never disappointed with a shift in perspective; I was just newly excited to see what James or Romaine or Red Eagle was up to. Sun is a legitimately impressive writer, and I was often taken by surprise by the craft in a bit of prose, or the deftness of a piece of character work
The novel's plot essentially takes several real-life uprisings that all occurred in what is now the United States in the 1790s and brings their leaders together, recasting the revolutions as parts of a larger strategic effort. Sun uses this to ask how much improved things might have been had things gone this way, had a US in its infancy fallen to a concerted Black and Indigenous effort to take it down, spearheaded by queer people, but she doesn't give in to the temptation to answer the question he asks. Instead of being presented with a utopia, we're given a glimpse of a promising start to something better.
My only real issue with this novel is I wish it had an author's note at the end. I've come to really appreciate authors' notes in historical fiction as a way to get a feel for the path their research took and the reasons for decisions they made. I honestly think the lack of an author's note here is a missed opportunity to spotlight some of the truth of the uprisings and historical figures central to the novel. Maybe even to include some portraits or historical artistic renderings of the people and events. Especially as much of AK Press does deal in nonfiction, I would have appreciated a short dip into some historical details at the end. Still, the book did spur me to read up on the characters and events myself, so even without an author's note, I can't say it didn't do its job.
Most of the characters of the novel are based on real historical figures. James Hemings, the very first French-trained American chef, who was enslaved by Thomas Jefferson and who - I learned yesterday - invented motherfucking macaroni and cheese, is the book's initial protagonist, accidentally joining a pirate crew and opening a restaurant in New Orleans. The pirate captain, Denmark, is another historical figure and protagonist, as is Romaine, a trans prophetess who led a Haitian slave revolt. Every character is an absolute treat, and unlike in most novels with several narrators, I was never disappointed with a shift in perspective; I was just newly excited to see what James or Romaine or Red Eagle was up to. Sun is a legitimately impressive writer, and I was often taken by surprise by the craft in a bit of prose, or the deftness of a piece of character work
The novel's plot essentially takes several real-life uprisings that all occurred in what is now the United States in the 1790s and brings their leaders together, recasting the revolutions as parts of a larger strategic effort. Sun uses this to ask how much improved things might have been had things gone this way, had a US in its infancy fallen to a concerted Black and Indigenous effort to take it down, spearheaded by queer people, but she doesn't give in to the temptation to answer the question he asks. Instead of being presented with a utopia, we're given a glimpse of a promising start to something better.
My only real issue with this novel is I wish it had an author's note at the end. I've come to really appreciate authors' notes in historical fiction as a way to get a feel for the path their research took and the reasons for decisions they made. I honestly think the lack of an author's note here is a missed opportunity to spotlight some of the truth of the uprisings and historical figures central to the novel. Maybe even to include some portraits or historical artistic renderings of the people and events. Especially as much of AK Press does deal in nonfiction, I would have appreciated a short dip into some historical details at the end. Still, the book did spur me to read up on the characters and events myself, so even without an author's note, I can't say it didn't do its job.