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sarahcoller's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Clotel has been dubbed the first novel published by an African American. I don't think I'd necessarily call it a novel as there's no real running plot throughout. It's really more of a mix of stories along with anecdotal information. He says it best at the end when he speaks of narratives. These are narratives written into story form and collected loosely with the thread of some characters being possible descendants of Thomas Jefferson running throughout. As a piece of literature, it wasn't particularly well-written. As a piece of history, it's invaluable.
These stories were so hard to read and imagine. I have shied away from reading hard things like this concerning cultural atrocities (holocaust, slavery days, child trafficking, etc.) for a long time. As a young mother and mother of young children, I didn't feel emotionally stable enough to read about these issues without it affecting the kind of peaceful mother I wanted to be. As that time of life wraps up, I'm finding that I can better face some of these horrific things. I think it's very important to keep the knowledge of this history alive. Both to give remembrance to those who suffered it and to arm ourselves with understanding as to how we can keep it from happening again.
These stories were so hard to read and imagine. I have shied away from reading hard things like this concerning cultural atrocities (holocaust, slavery days, child trafficking, etc.) for a long time. As a young mother and mother of young children, I didn't feel emotionally stable enough to read about these issues without it affecting the kind of peaceful mother I wanted to be. As that time of life wraps up, I'm finding that I can better face some of these horrific things. I think it's very important to keep the knowledge of this history alive. Both to give remembrance to those who suffered it and to arm ourselves with understanding as to how we can keep it from happening again.
rileyary's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
fractaltexan's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting novel, based on some very obvious historical figures and scandals. Brown's use of certain historical documents (Such as the Declaration of Independence) serves to show the contrast between the nation in documents and the nation in reality.
An interesting read for my Gender, Sexuality, and Literature class, and I will read it again post class.
An important note is that only half of the book is the novel proper. The rest are documents that seek to put the novel in historical context.
An interesting read for my Gender, Sexuality, and Literature class, and I will read it again post class.
An important note is that only half of the book is the novel proper. The rest are documents that seek to put the novel in historical context.
chanelmeadows's review against another edition
Mr. Brown is an amazing writer!
I have read other nonfiction novels about slavery that were extremely heavy or dry (obviously because of the severity of this topic) but Mr. Brown writes of these events in a manner that allows the reader to stay captivated not only by the historical points but also by his writing style and language. He shows the horrors of slavery by revealing the governments', religious institutions', and "good people"'s mistaken points of view.
Amazing read. It dies cover heavy points but the writer writes in a way that doesn't make the reader feel overburdened.
I have read other nonfiction novels about slavery that were extremely heavy or dry (obviously because of the severity of this topic) but Mr. Brown writes of these events in a manner that allows the reader to stay captivated not only by the historical points but also by his writing style and language. He shows the horrors of slavery by revealing the governments', religious institutions', and "good people"'s mistaken points of view.
Amazing read. It dies cover heavy points but the writer writes in a way that doesn't make the reader feel overburdened.
adeleighpenguin's review against another edition
A series of vignettes that captures the horrific and graphic details of slavery better than any required reading of Uncle Tom’s Cabin ever could. This book belongs in the modern high school curriculum
noteworthy_fiction's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
terrahome's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely historically significant and worth a read. Reading this today in the context of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement, it struck me how even this novel from 1853 understands how every systemically racist aspect of American society can be traced back to the slave trade. The fact that this has been known and acknowledged by African American writers for literal centuries makes African-American literature's lack of representation in high school curriculums across the country all the more frustrating. Novels like Clotel so effortlessly convey the hypocrisy and disgusting cruelties of slavery and racial prejudice that they really should be read by every student in the United States. Still, as a work of fiction, I can't deny that Clotel is not the greatest read. It's really more of an abolitionist manifesto taking examples of real life self-liberated and recaptured slaves and fictionalizing them for a narrative format. It often feels more like a pamphlet about the author's political message than it does a story, made all the more glaring by how most of the narrative here is told to the reader rather than shown in scene. Such is the case with many sentimental novels of its era though, and the themes and messages here are still powerful enough that it remains relatively engaging in spite of these craft issues.
lizzield's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Trafficking
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse and Medical trauma
emma_lynn_writes's review against another edition
4.0
This book by William Wells Brown is considered to be the first published African American novel. The main character is Clotel, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson and a slave woman. Clotel offers an interesting reading experience as it shifts the metaphorical camera to different characters in each chapter. These characters include Clotel and her mother, as well as the various people they come in contact with. While the introduction to the book written by M. Giulia Fabi makes the argument that this schizophrenic plot reveals the inherently chaotic nature of the lives of enslaved peoples in an unjust and nonsensical system, it doesn’t make for a very cohesive narrative or distinctive characters. Nevertheless, unlike some other books of this time period, the author’s writing style is clear and humorous, making this an important classic that I would recommend to modern readers.