I was going to write about another
book today, but when I sat down to do it, I couldn't remember the title, just
that I didn't like it much. So I decided
that it wasn't really worth writing about if I couldn't even remember the title
not 3 weeks after I finished it.
Instead I wanted to tell you about
another book that I read a few weekends ago.
Someone Knows My Name is an epic tale of Aminata, a young African girl
who is kidnapped from her village in 1757 and sold into the US
slave trade. She survives the grueling
trip aboard a slave ship to be sold onto a South Carol ina
indigo plantation. Eventually she is
bought by an indigo inspector who takes her to New York
City where she eventually escapes and hooks up with
abolitionists who take her to Nova Scotia ,
Sierra Leone
and eventually to England
to testify in Parliament against slavery.
It’s a gripping tale. I started it on Saturday morning and by about
1:00 that day I was already to page
104. I didn't want to put it down. Aminata’s life is interesting and action
packed and tragic and reads a little like an overview illustration of the slave
trade and practices that were so abundant in the 18th and early 19th
centuries. It was a topical book to read
during February when we celebrate Black History Month.
The story is simply written and
well drawn so it moves and reads easily.
In fact if not for the blatant violence and somewhat lurid sexual
overtones, it might read a little like a Young Adult novel. Imagine “Roots For
Girls”. It was a fun read, something to
lose yourself in on a cold rainy weekend. Even with all the history I've learned and the
historical fiction I've read, I was introduced to some new parts of the slave
story and gained a new insight on what that journey would have been like for a
young woman.
After the Revolutionary War, the
British Government offered those black people who fought or supported their
side, the opportunity for freedom and a new start in Nova
Scotia . Runaway
slaves and freed blacks were registered in the Book of Negroes, a registry of
sympathizers and, with the promise of land ownership, were systematically sent
by ship up the coast to Nova Scotia
to start over. Of course the promises
were never really fulfilled and the land and climate was such that farming was
virtually impossible, so many came back or moved elsewhere. A group of British abolitionists convinced
some of those who were disillusioned to travel back to Africa
and begin a colony in Freetown Sierra Leone, right in the backyard of the center
of the slave trade. Its not hard to imagine
why that wasn’t such a good idea. Aminata’s
life chronicles these footnotes of history and gives a voice to those who made
these amazing journeys.
My only complaint with the novel
was that Aminata’s story is a little coincidental. Some reviewers likened her
character to an 18th century Oprah.
She’s just a little too talented and fortunate. She reads and writes, can translate two
African languages, is a talented midwife and healer, speaks well in public, can
set type and edit, keep books and write law and survives four long ocean voyages.
She even is the scribe for the Book of Negroes.
There’s really nothing she can’t do. But then again, her story is meant to be
extraordinary.
What struck me as brilliance is
the level of detail with which Lawrence Hill writes Aminata’s story. He must have employed an army of researchers
to fact check every detail that lends the color and atmosphere to the
book. He really knows his stuff. Son of two Canadian civil rights activists,
Hill has the perspective and understanding of his subject matter that comes
from being around it his whole life. He
is a talented storyteller and understands how to hook a reader and keep them
interested throughout the whole book while learning something along the way.
So on these cold and rainy March
weekends, give yourself a treat and pick up Someone Knows My Name. Light a fire in the fireplace, curl up on the
couch with some snacks and a warm drink and dig in. You won’t be sorry you did.
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