A review by kaylasbookishlife
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
4.0
A powerful book that should be on everyone’s TBR. .
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I’ve had this book for years and have only just read it! Wow this book offers a fascinating story about a girl from Bayo Africa who is forced to become a slave in America. Aminata goes through so much and what I liked about this novel is how it is written as a reflection. Aminata is now an old woman in England about to speak with the abolitionists about the slave trade. She is writing down her story and takes us all the way back to Africa when she was 12 years old. .
.
What surprised me (and it shouldn’t have been a surprise) was that a lot of the slaves were Muslim. We are not taught anything about the culture, languages, traditions of slaves in school. We are not taught that they were doctors and landowners and scholars. I think this book gave a much needed sense of humanity to the people we forced into slavery. What was your idea of a slave before reading this book? I honestly cannot tell you because I was not taught to view them as having any sort of history before they came to America and Canada, that is where their history begins for us living in countries built by slaves and it’s appalling to say the least. .
.
I’ve had this book for years and have only just read it! Wow this book offers a fascinating story about a girl from Bayo Africa who is forced to become a slave in America. Aminata goes through so much and what I liked about this novel is how it is written as a reflection. Aminata is now an old woman in England about to speak with the abolitionists about the slave trade. She is writing down her story and takes us all the way back to Africa when she was 12 years old. .
.
What surprised me (and it shouldn’t have been a surprise) was that a lot of the slaves were Muslim. We are not taught anything about the culture, languages, traditions of slaves in school. We are not taught that they were doctors and landowners and scholars. I think this book gave a much needed sense of humanity to the people we forced into slavery. What was your idea of a slave before reading this book? I honestly cannot tell you because I was not taught to view them as having any sort of history before they came to America and Canada, that is where their history begins for us living in countries built by slaves and it’s appalling to say the least. .