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The Book Of Negroes |  | Author: Lawrence Hill
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 24.95
Buy New: CDN$ 15.64
as of 3/10/2010 22:36 CST details
You Save: CDN$ 9.31 (37%)
Seller: Amazon.ca
Rating:  61 reviews
Sales Rank: 12
Media: Paperback
Edition: 30th printing
Pages: 384
ISBN: 1554681561
EAN: 9781554681563
ASIN: 1554681561
Publication Date: October 4, 2007
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 61
 A Must Read! March 8, 2010
Lisa A. Gustafson (canada)
This is the best book I've read in a long time. It's a classic.
The Book of Negroes February 19, 2010
A. Stupart (Burlington, ON)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Book of Negroes is a remarkable historical novel and one of the most poignant depictions of the slave trade in colonial America since Alex Haley's Roots. Canadian readers will also find the story intriguing as it sheds light on a shameful yet relatively unknown chapter of Canadian history, namely the racist attacks on the freed loyalist slaves who emigrated to Nova Scotia in the aftermath of the American Revolution. Hill's intelligent and strong-minded protagonist, Aminata Diallo, is one of the most memorable literary heroines I've ever encountered. Aminata's first person account of her long, arduous struggle for freedom after being captured by slave traders is incredibly moving, providing a wealth of historical detail and insightful commentary on the social attitudes of the day. Kudos to Mr. Hill's Canadian publisher, Harper Collins, for having the integrity to stick with the book's original title. Since The Book of Negroes was the actual name of the historical document cited in the novel, it was an appropriate and logical choice for the title of the book. W.W. Norton, the book's U.S. publisher, opted to change the title to the less provocative Someone Knows My Name, an innocuous moniker which completely fails to convey a sense of the book's subject matter or to resonate in any way with the reader.
 Captivating, infuriating, heartbreaking, and uplifting January 6, 2010
Andrea (Ontario, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
[Cross-posted to LibraryThing and LivingSocial]
In a CBC interview, Lawrence Hill said the following about the protagonist of this novel:
It had to be a woman. I believe you locate the story in the shoes of the person who has the most to lose. ([...])
Aminata Diallo has everything to lose: her parents, her freedom, her innocence, her husband, her children, and many times, she comes to close to losing her life. Aminata is sold into slavery as a child, taken from her village in Africa and shipped to South Carolina to work for an indigo plantation owner. She struggles to make sense of what happened to her and is determined to return to her homeland one day. Through all of the pain, misery, and betrayal, Aminata fights to survive and maintain her dignity. Somehow, she never loses hope even when it appears that there is nothing left to hope for.
Aminatas story is captivating, infuriating, heartbreaking, and uplifting. It is beautifully written; the sections where Aminata reflects on her life in her old age reminded me a little of Joseph Boydens writing style in that they made me want to slow down and savour every word.
There were two reasons why I didnt end up giving this a perfect 5 star rating. First, the last 100 pages got very repetitive and didnt quite feel as smooth as the rest of the book. And second, while Aminata was amazing and managed to survive so much hardship, sometimes her luck really strained my ability to suspend disbelief.
I will admit that I dont know much about Canadian history when it comes to slavery beyond the Underground Railroad, so this was eye-opening. I was surprised to discover that the Birchtown riots described in the novel actually occurred and were in fact the first race riots in North America. I will definitely be reading more on this subject.
 Disappointing November 27, 2009
C. Edwards (Canada)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Despite the huge potential the premise carried, this book is no literary masterwork. The writing is mediocre -- even amateurish --, the language unrealistic, and some of the action irritatingly unrealistic/hard to buy. E.g. In Africa when a captive runs off to rescue his daughter, he RETURNS to the slave camp. There are several other examples, but I've forgotten them. I much agree with the 2-star reviews thus far. There's no heart in this story. No strong emotional triggers. No depth. And, it's not original. The only original piece was when the protagonist commented that the man was looking at her read as if he was looking at a zebra read. That had pun-like quality to it and showed not only the man's ignorance but his depth of racism as well. Nevertheless, it is not a book for a sophisticated reader.
Sleepless nights devouring this story November 10, 2009
dragonfly (Ont, Canada)
This is the kind of book you wait years to read, the kind that makes you fall in love with reading and books again. I admit I had to be talked into reading this book . . . I do not regret it and bought my co-worker who recommended it lunch as a thanks.
I found it historically fascinating and the characters engaging - I was sad to come to the end of the story, but happy to finally get some sleep again!
If you liked this book, you might also like "The Help".
Enjoy!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 61
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