A review by christytidwell
Dessa Rose by Sherley Anne Williams
3.0
Dessa Rose tells the story of Dessa Rose, a young (teenaged) black slave who, after her lover is killed and she attacks her mistress, is beaten savagely and sold away. While being transported, she and several others revolt and escape, killing white men in the attempt. Dessa is captured after the attempt and only remains alive as long as she does because she is pregnant and it is decided that she should give birth before she is executed.
Part One of the book is about the period of time during which she is held captive before her scheduled execution. During this time, a white man, Adam Nehemiah, comes and interviews her for a book he is writing about escaped slaves. The first section alternates between her perspective and his.
Part Two takes place after Dessa is stolen away from this captivity by three escaped slaves and taken to Miss Rufel's plantation. Miss Rufel harbors escaped slaves--but not out of the goodness of her heart. She does so because her husband is gone, her slaves have mostly run away, and she needs the help in keeping the plantation running. They do work for her in exchange for relative freedom. This section alternates between Miss Rufel's perspective and Dessa's.
Part Three follows the scheme of the runaways to have Miss Rufel sell them into slavery repeatedly, so that they can earn the money and then run away back to Miss Rufel, who will sell them again to someone else. They will do this, risk being sold again, risk being caught in this deception, in order to raise money to move out west, where there is no slavery. This section is all told from Dessa's first-person perspective.
The plot is interesting enough, based on real-life happenings, and Williams does a nice job illustrating the various motivations of Dessa, Miss Rufel, and Nehemiah. They each want something and they each come with their own prejudices and hatreds. Seeing the story unfold through their varied perspectives provides a fuller picture than merely seeing the story unfold through Dessa's perspective would.
However, despite the interesting plot and the insights into multiple characters, something is missing here. Perhaps what is missing is depth. Dessa Rose, for instance, has been beaten horribly and scarred, but this experience remains distanced from the reader. It is mostly recounted at second or third hand as opposed to being experienced or remembered with Dessa. Because of this distance, this transformative experience of Dessa's is no more than a plot point. It could be a way into her character, but we are denied that closeness. This is not just true of Dessa; it never feels as though the reader is able to delve too deeply into any one character. There are snatches of insight, but no real sense of the way that one or another person's mind works. And without this personal, internal logic, the changing ways in which Dessa and Miss Rufel relate to one another, as well as the growing romances between Miss Rufel and Nathan and between Dessa and Harker, lack significance and remain about as compelling as the relationships of a soap opera or melodrama--interesting on the surface but with no real power to move the reader.
Part One of the book is about the period of time during which she is held captive before her scheduled execution. During this time, a white man, Adam Nehemiah, comes and interviews her for a book he is writing about escaped slaves. The first section alternates between her perspective and his.
Part Two takes place after Dessa is stolen away from this captivity by three escaped slaves and taken to Miss Rufel's plantation. Miss Rufel harbors escaped slaves--but not out of the goodness of her heart. She does so because her husband is gone, her slaves have mostly run away, and she needs the help in keeping the plantation running. They do work for her in exchange for relative freedom. This section alternates between Miss Rufel's perspective and Dessa's.
Part Three follows the scheme of the runaways to have Miss Rufel sell them into slavery repeatedly, so that they can earn the money and then run away back to Miss Rufel, who will sell them again to someone else. They will do this, risk being sold again, risk being caught in this deception, in order to raise money to move out west, where there is no slavery. This section is all told from Dessa's first-person perspective.
The plot is interesting enough, based on real-life happenings, and Williams does a nice job illustrating the various motivations of Dessa, Miss Rufel, and Nehemiah. They each want something and they each come with their own prejudices and hatreds. Seeing the story unfold through their varied perspectives provides a fuller picture than merely seeing the story unfold through Dessa's perspective would.
However, despite the interesting plot and the insights into multiple characters, something is missing here. Perhaps what is missing is depth. Dessa Rose, for instance, has been beaten horribly and scarred, but this experience remains distanced from the reader. It is mostly recounted at second or third hand as opposed to being experienced or remembered with Dessa. Because of this distance, this transformative experience of Dessa's is no more than a plot point. It could be a way into her character, but we are denied that closeness. This is not just true of Dessa; it never feels as though the reader is able to delve too deeply into any one character. There are snatches of insight, but no real sense of the way that one or another person's mind works. And without this personal, internal logic, the changing ways in which Dessa and Miss Rufel relate to one another, as well as the growing romances between Miss Rufel and Nathan and between Dessa and Harker, lack significance and remain about as compelling as the relationships of a soap opera or melodrama--interesting on the surface but with no real power to move the reader.