Reviews

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn

imme_van_gorp's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

This is an anti-slavery novel written in the 17th-Century by the very first professional female author; for that reason alone I would already consider this to be a historically interesting and admirable piece of writing. 
However, it is not for that reason alone that I am glad to have read this, as it also turned out to be a surprisingly well-written, easy to follow, thoroughly compelling and emotionally engaging story! I truly felt my heart break and my anger rise during so many moments in this novel: it was so brutal and so tragic!

In the first part of the novel, we get to see the beauty and honour as well as the hardships and barbaric customs of the African culture of which Oroonoko is a Prince. Then, after he is tricked into slavery, we get to see how disingenuous Europeans can be in how they betray their promises to Oroonoko time and time again. Yet, the Europeans also show him a tremendous amount of kindness and care that they do not show any of the other slaves. They claim this is because he is “different” and “better” than all the others, but it was clearly just because Oroonoko resembled their own features and customs more than the other slaves; his beauty and haughtiness somehow commanded their respect and admiration… 

So as it was in vain to make any resistance, he only beheld the captain with a look all fierce and disdainful, upbraiding him with eyes that forced blushes on his guilty cheeks, he only cried in passing over the side of the ship, “Farewell, Sir, 'tis worth my sufferings to gain so true a knowledge both of you and of your gods by whom you swear.” And desiring those that held him to forbear their pains, and telling 'em he would make no resistance, he cried, “Come, my fellow-slaves, let us descend, and see if we can meet with more honor and honesty in the next world we shall touch upon.”

As I said before, this was a very gripping novel, and I especially felt myself near tears when it came to Imionda’s, even more so than Oroonoko’s, fate… Whereas Oroonoko had a very powerful and self-assured aura around him, Imionda was shy and defenseless and so entirely innocent. Considering Oroonoko himself had sold slaves when he was still an African Prince, I found it more difficult to feel true sympathy for him. I had no such problems with Imionda, and could only deeply admire her for her bravery and loyalty, and thus, my heart genuinely shattered into a million pieces for her from the moment she received the Royal Veil to the moment of her death…

“And why,” said he, “my dear friends and fellow-sufferers, should we be slaves to an unknown people? Have they vanquished us nobly in fight? Have they won us in honorable battle? And are we by the chance of war become their slaves? This would not anger a noble heart; this would not animate a soldiers soul: no, but we are bought and sold like apes or monkeys, to be the sport of women, fools, and cowards; and the support of rogues and runagates, that have abandoned their own countries for rapine, murders, theft, and villainies. Do you not hear every day how they upbraid each other with infamy of life, below the wildest savages? And shall we render obedience to such a degenerate race, who have no one human virtue left, to distinguish them from the vilest creatures? Will you, I say, suffer the lash from such hands?” They all replied with one accord, “No, no, no.”

Personally, I thought this novel showed a very interesting duality in how there were both Africans and Europeans who could either be pure and nobel and worthy of great respect as well as those who could be filled with deceit, dishonour and cruelty. 
This might not sound like much to today’s standards of racial equality, but for a novel written in the 17th-Century, which was during the very height of slave trade, I found this to be extremely surprising and perhaps even inspiring to read!

bookkee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

allan_p's review against another edition

3.0

This book seems very much on the novelty side. Think Sir Walter Scott's disappointed aunt...

technicolortvs's review against another edition

2.0

Required reading. Didn’t find much within the book that struck me as interesting or inspiring. The prose is easy enough to understand but a real drag to get through, especially with the heavily brutalized and inhumane conditions the titular character is forced to face. It gets an extra star for its historical relevance, nothing more.

cytokinesis's review against another edition

1.0

1.5 wtaf

book_busy's review against another edition

3.0

With the aid of an audiobook in the second half I found this book much more gripping and emotive. However, I was not really seized by the script alone and found the (though obviously symptomatic of its time) treatment of race disheartening. The fact that Behn creates a moral dichotomy between the notable (Ew racialism) aristocratic, moral and educated Oroonoko and the other Africans who are more... Homogeneous and ... Deserving of slavery?? is actually repulsive. However I think what is positive or surprising about this novel is, considering it's time, it does strive to endear the audience to Oroonoko and critique the practices of some white figures of power (though I do think Behn extends too much credit to some of the white characters for simply not being abhorrent towards Oroonoko).

heath_the_leaf's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

alju2404's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

annieni's review against another edition

1.0

Read it for university. Good on Aphra Behn for being one of the first women to make a living through writing. Hate that she wrote this. Incredibly racist and a glorification of black pain. If you were to teach this, you would need to properly dissect its racist and anti-black ideologies, but evidently many aren't doing that.

persephonestar's review against another edition

3.0

School read