With beautiful writing the author takes an unsparing look at slavery and with a ghost story to boot, this was a unique story to read.
It is always hard to read about subjects like this. While movies can show some of the images of slavery in the United States, books can really get into the psychological damage as well as the physical.
Jumping around among the memories of various characters we learn about how people were abused horribly, and then we are forced to watch things in turn get even worse. The writer doesn’t let us look away and is often very clear about the atrocities that are being committed. I agreed with her decision not to soften things up, but it was still hard to get through.
In contrast the writer’s skill in describing the beauty of the natural settings really did shine – I was hoping for more about the country and natural background, away from the horrors that take center stage.
One thing that bothered me about the storytelling style was that the plot is revealed out of order, according to the possibly unreliable memories of the people that were there, and in this way key moments could be saved up to be revealed later. I didn’t like this style as it felt like everyone knew all of the information but the reader (this bothered me about Two Nights in Lisbon as well). A few jumps are fine for me but this one had so many jumps it was sometimes hard to follow.
Those points aside, I was glad I could read this book. The author was able to convey a feeling that I take for granted – what it means to be free. It is good to be reminded of what that means now and then.
Next I’m reading Anthony Ryan’s The Martyr.
