kofi_dzogbewu's review
5.0
Amazing story.
One of my favorite historical fiction novels. The novel tells a lot about the Atlantic Slave Trade in an entertaining way. It's highly recommended.
One of my favorite historical fiction novels. The novel tells a lot about the Atlantic Slave Trade in an entertaining way. It's highly recommended.
aekua's review against another edition
5.0
Ama
I read Ama in 2010 and was fascinated by it. I became interested in African enslavement when I came across it in a book at the age of 12. I was shocked by the fact of enslavement. I remember poring over the internet to find out more about it. I read many books over the years on the subject but I rarely came across a book about enslavement set in Ghana so finding Ama at the Legon Bookshop was fascinating. Ama was an eye-opening read that taught me a lot.
Over the years, I've recommended Ama to many people, especially recently when Homegoing started to make waves. I would point out that Ama has so much depth and history. I decided to re-read it last month ahead of our book club meeting with Manu Herbstein. Ama is full of history about Ghana and its internal slavery that fed into the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Right from Bekpokpam, readers are acquainted with life in the small settlements that were constantly raided by slave raiders. Ama makes her way into Gonja land and handed over to the Ashanti kingdom as part of the annual tribute to the Asantehene. In Kumase, readers learn about the rich history of a highly functional and well-structured kingdom that invaded smaller ones to have a constant supply of enslaved people and raw materials. Eventually, Ama is sent away to the coast. Again, readers learn about coastal Gold Coast and its trade with Europeans.
So many things struck me about the novel. First is the vulnerability of women. Second is the vulnerability of enslaved people who are dispensable and could be disposed off at any time no matter how valuable they might have been at some point. The tragedy of enslavement is far too great to speak about. Manu Herbstein has done an immensely successful job at writing a book of such depth. Sadly, Ama's story is a drop in an ocean of unknown and untold stories...
I read Ama in 2010 and was fascinated by it. I became interested in African enslavement when I came across it in a book at the age of 12. I was shocked by the fact of enslavement. I remember poring over the internet to find out more about it. I read many books over the years on the subject but I rarely came across a book about enslavement set in Ghana so finding Ama at the Legon Bookshop was fascinating. Ama was an eye-opening read that taught me a lot.
Over the years, I've recommended Ama to many people, especially recently when Homegoing started to make waves. I would point out that Ama has so much depth and history. I decided to re-read it last month ahead of our book club meeting with Manu Herbstein. Ama is full of history about Ghana and its internal slavery that fed into the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Right from Bekpokpam, readers are acquainted with life in the small settlements that were constantly raided by slave raiders. Ama makes her way into Gonja land and handed over to the Ashanti kingdom as part of the annual tribute to the Asantehene. In Kumase, readers learn about the rich history of a highly functional and well-structured kingdom that invaded smaller ones to have a constant supply of enslaved people and raw materials. Eventually, Ama is sent away to the coast. Again, readers learn about coastal Gold Coast and its trade with Europeans.
So many things struck me about the novel. First is the vulnerability of women. Second is the vulnerability of enslaved people who are dispensable and could be disposed off at any time no matter how valuable they might have been at some point. The tragedy of enslavement is far too great to speak about. Manu Herbstein has done an immensely successful job at writing a book of such depth. Sadly, Ama's story is a drop in an ocean of unknown and untold stories...
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