Take a photo of a barcode or cover
najmiebinmaliki 's review for:
Twelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup
I first heard about this book when the movie adaptation made into the nominee list of 2014 Academy Awards Best Picture (and eventually won it). I thought, "Pfft, only twelve years. Many were born in slavery and died in it."
But nevertheless, I always wondered about the hardship of being a slave, and even more so on the mental and emotional part of it, I finally read it. The introduction mentioned that his story is written in a matter-of-fact manner, so I would imagine a rather flat tone, something like a Wikipedia entry.
And how wrong I was. One thing that really stood out for me about this book is how the author always give sneak peeks at the end of the chapter, like a spoiler, making the reader know what will happen in the end, but making the reader even more curious about what happened in between. The book was also written with great description, of course on the pain and hardship, but I especially liked how he described the emotions, not just of himself, but of the fellow slaves his life encountered. The one that gave me long-lasting impact until now is on a character named Eliza, but any other reader may be impacted by other characters, they are humans anyway, full of emotions and thought just like you and I, but treated with such degradation because they are just mere properties, although I believe considerably expensive properties such as a house or a horse, but still, mere properties, that they can be bought or sold or even be killed if their masters wished to do so.
This story was told from a first person's view, so I would expect a happy ending. But the world is not rosy as we would love it to be, slavery may have been abolished in the States (and the Americas) but there are still millions today who are still in some form of modern slavery.
Ultimately, most of these human tragedies, Atlantic slave trade, Congo Free State, Holocaust, Stalin's reign, Cultural Revolution, Khmer Rouge, are well-known. But we will never apprehend what the individuals go through, if not for literature works like these. After all, they, all the millions who suffered and died, are humans, full of emotions and thoughts, no different than us.
The most depressing part of the story is beyond the book. The author, after lived in liberty as a free man a few years after being rescued, disappeared from public records. He may have been kidnapped again and enslaved. There are many theories of what happened to him, and there are opinions that it is unlikely that he was kidnapped again, as he would be rather old to be of any value. But I don't know.
But nevertheless, I always wondered about the hardship of being a slave, and even more so on the mental and emotional part of it, I finally read it. The introduction mentioned that his story is written in a matter-of-fact manner, so I would imagine a rather flat tone, something like a Wikipedia entry.
And how wrong I was. One thing that really stood out for me about this book is how the author always give sneak peeks at the end of the chapter, like a spoiler, making the reader know what will happen in the end, but making the reader even more curious about what happened in between. The book was also written with great description, of course on the pain and hardship, but I especially liked how he described the emotions, not just of himself, but of the fellow slaves his life encountered. The one that gave me long-lasting impact until now is on a character named Eliza, but any other reader may be impacted by other characters, they are humans anyway, full of emotions and thought just like you and I, but treated with such degradation because they are just mere properties, although I believe considerably expensive properties such as a house or a horse, but still, mere properties, that they can be bought or sold or even be killed if their masters wished to do so.
This story was told from a first person's view, so I would expect a happy ending. But the world is not rosy as we would love it to be, slavery may have been abolished in the States (and the Americas) but there are still millions today who are still in some form of modern slavery.
Ultimately, most of these human tragedies, Atlantic slave trade, Congo Free State, Holocaust, Stalin's reign, Cultural Revolution, Khmer Rouge, are well-known. But we will never apprehend what the individuals go through, if not for literature works like these. After all, they, all the millions who suffered and died, are humans, full of emotions and thoughts, no different than us.
Spoiler
The following section have spoilers. It is best that you read the book entirely first before reading the following spoilers.Spoiler
The most depressing part of the story is beyond the book. The author, after lived in liberty as a free man a few years after being rescued, disappeared from public records. He may have been kidnapped again and enslaved. There are many theories of what happened to him, and there are opinions that it is unlikely that he was kidnapped again, as he would be rather old to be of any value. But I don't know.