Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill, 471 pages
Powerful stuff. The setting is the mid to late 1700s, Aminata lives happily with her parents in an African village. At 11 she is stolen, put on a slave ship, and sold in South Carolina. Her story is painful and at times difficult to read. Her quickness and bright mind serve her well, and she is able to learn much - including reading and writing, rare skills that she uses time and again to further her quest to return to Africa. There are several heartbreaking passages, yet through it all there is hope.
Aminata's journey is unlike any other book of its kind. I learned a lot about slavery during the Revolutionary War period that I had never known. The author has done meticulous research and it shows. It may, however, be too much information, as it can seem as though he tried to fit everything he uncovered into one story. As a result, I began to get antsy if the main character stayed in one place too long. But as Miji pointed out to me, that would be the fault of the editor, no? And the author's ability to narrate from the perspective of a female slave is truly amazing.The first 300 pages are brilliant the next 100 okay, the last 70 good. I haven't read anything like it in a long time. And I highly recommend it.
The End.
Sounds good! I've never heard of this one. I read the first page of Confessions... that you reviewed above..and returned it to the library. I'm thinking, what's the point? might as well just read Jane Austen, not silly books about her books.
Posted by: tara | February 26, 2008 at 07:38 PM