what i'm reading: the book of negroes by lawrence hill

I'm reading a remarkable book, one that Canadian readers are likely familiar with, but that I hope everyone will read: The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill, published in the US as Someone Knows My Name.

Hill is the writer who co-authored The Deserter's Tale with Joshua Key, and because of that - and excellent reviews - I was curious about this book. I am utterly engrossed.

The Book of Negroes is a historical novel about slavery. It begins in a village in Africa, where a girl is kidnapped, and follows her story, told in her own voice. The reader comes along on her forced journey, first overland, then in the unimaginable horrors of the ocean voyage, and to South Carolina.

From there the narrator will journey to Manhattan, and then to Nova Scotia, as part of a contingent of Black Loyalists who fought for the British against the American colonists. The military ledger of that ship is the historical document known as The Book of Negroes.

The woman's story doesn't end there, as she will join of a contingent of former slaves who actually travel back to their homeland. Later she will live in London, where the British abolitionist movement will use her as a prop for their work.

It's not easy to read about slavery, to imagine what it might have been like. Certain horrors of the world are easily avoided; I feel those are the ones we must force ourselves to visit in our minds. War, genocide, slavery, executions.

The best books I've read that deal with slavery have all been novels: in addition to The Book of Negroes, Toni Morrison's masterpiece Beloved (one of the great US novels) and the excellent Middle Passage, by Charles Johnson. I also loved Cloudsplitter, Russell Banks' novel about the radical abolitionist John Brown. Each of these books deals with slavery from a different angle. The Book of Negroes is the first book I've read that brings you this close to the heart of the horror, step by step, through the eyes of a person forced into slavery.

I have also read parts of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs, one of the four slave narratives that were edited and published by the historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. I see they are listed in Hill's extensive bibliography.

The Book of Negroes is narrated in the first-person by an elderly woman, looking back on the fantastical journey of her life. Her voice sounds, to me, completely authentic - and that is the greatest compliment I can think of.

On a personal note, I met Lawrence Hill at a War Resisters Support Campaign event in January. He attended with one of his children, and spoke at the event. He's a very friendly, soft-spoken, caring man who has done a lot for the Campaign. I always say that The Deserter's Tale is our single best organizing tool.

I had been reading The Book of Negroes from the library, but once I discovered how good it is, I went out and bought it. Whichever you choose, don't miss this book.