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A review by andrew_russell
Twelve Years a Slave: A True Story by Solomon Northup
4.0
It must be more than a coincidence that of the half dozen or so non-fiction books which I have rated as amongst my favourites on my Goodreads 'Read' shelf, three concern triumph over adversity. By that, I don't mean 'triumph' in the sense of my favourite football (soccer to the American's out there) team scoring a winning goal. No, I mean a triumph of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming odds. Since this was one of the central themes of 'Twelve Years a Slave' I had high hopes of it joining those three books on my 'top books' shelf. Were this to be the case, it would be the first such non-fiction book which I have read in just short of two and a half years.
And for the first half, it met the criteria necessary to be given such a 'top-book' place. Emotion poured from the pages and it read like an addictive dream (or nightmare, depending on your perspective). It told of the abduction of Solomon Northup, a free black American, who had a wife and three young children. Only the most black hearted and cold individual could fail to feel a stirring of revulsion and slight guilt, at the thought that such treatment of fellow human beings as that which befell Northup was ever possible.
Apart from Northup being treated worse than a rabid dog at deaths door, and the emotions this brought forth in me while reading, his use of language was in no sense amateurish. His imagery and ability to convey the hopeless feeling of despair which at times he felt, was what kept the book ticking over.
However, this can only keep any book afloat for so long. Written in the style of a narrative, with little opportunity for dialogue and even less immediacy, the book began to labour through the second half. This was what held it back from being awarded five stars.
That said, it's historical significance as being if not the only, then one of the few slave narratives written from the perspective of someone who 'escaped' the plantations, as well as it's stirring and evocative prose, make it a great read.
And for the first half, it met the criteria necessary to be given such a 'top-book' place. Emotion poured from the pages and it read like an addictive dream (or nightmare, depending on your perspective). It told of the abduction of Solomon Northup, a free black American, who had a wife and three young children. Only the most black hearted and cold individual could fail to feel a stirring of revulsion and slight guilt, at the thought that such treatment of fellow human beings as that which befell Northup was ever possible.
Apart from Northup being treated worse than a rabid dog at deaths door, and the emotions this brought forth in me while reading, his use of language was in no sense amateurish. His imagery and ability to convey the hopeless feeling of despair which at times he felt, was what kept the book ticking over.
However, this can only keep any book afloat for so long. Written in the style of a narrative, with little opportunity for dialogue and even less immediacy, the book began to labour through the second half. This was what held it back from being awarded five stars.
That said, it's historical significance as being if not the only, then one of the few slave narratives written from the perspective of someone who 'escaped' the plantations, as well as it's stirring and evocative prose, make it a great read.