A review by emma_nb
Oronooko: The Royal Slave by Aphra Behn

3.0

I have no idea how to rate this. What I will say is that the prose is absorbing and the book is written in a vivid, sensory way. And it’s surprisingly readable considering that this was published in the 1600s. The inherent prejudice shown through cruelty towards the “Other” is a theme running throughout. Undeniably, the characters are designed for the read to feel sympathetic, which is impressive considering the brevity of the overall novella. What makes this book so shocking and difficult to rate is the sheer gore that shocked me in the latter part of it. For anyone reading this, I would give huge trigger warnings for implied rape and extreme violence combined with gore. Wow, that was a bizarre ride.