The Book of Negroes: The award-winning classic bestseller

I’m a little lost for words at the moment. I think I have just finished the best book I have ever read so far. When my friend first recommend the book to me I did have my reservations as I wasn’t sure whether it would be my cup of tea as it is about black slavery and bound to be very historical and political which is very different from the fluffy romantic stuff I usually read! From the very first pages I knew this was going to be an amazing read and I would be taken on a journey. Indeed I was and I feel shattered just reading it! The story centres around a young woman, Aminata Diallo and her family, who is brought to London, England, in 1802, by abolitionists who are petitioning to end the slave trade. While she is there she is asked to write an account of her life story which included being abducted from her family at age 11, seeing the death of her mother and father, and being marched in a coffle of captives to the coast along with others from her village. Aminata manages to survive the passage to America because she is able to apply the knowledge and skills passed on to her by her parents, especially the ability to “catch” (i.e., deliver) babies and to understand some African languages. I don’t want to give too much away is it is a book everyone should read. The imagery in the book is just stupendous. I could picture every track she walked on, the ship she sailed on and the disgusting conditions she and her fellow slaves were made to endure. The book just flows easily from one chapter to the next and not once did I ever feel lost. I was there the whole way. The book is also home to some wonderful quotes that have really struck a cord with me. “Beauty comes and goes. Strength, you keep forever” “That, I decided, was what it meant to be a slave: your past didn’t matter; in the present you were invisible and you had no claim on the future” imagine that as your outlook on life? It’s so upsetting to read. ‘It doesn’t matter what we call your soul, what matters is where it travels and who uplifts it’ The book is full of them but I especially love the last one. As long as you keep your strength and your faith the rest will sort itself out. It’s all about inner beauty which Aminata clearly displays throughout the book. A fantastic read that won't disappoint!

THIS book really lived up to its reputation for me. I loved it and could not put it down. I read it in two sittings and devoured every single word. The reader knows, by reading the jacket, what this book is about, and it does not disappoint. While it gives a fictional account of one woman's survival as a slave, from her home in Africa as a child, through America, back to Africa and then to England, it makes it easy for the reader to imagine the lives of the real slaves and what they had to endure. Not just the physical brutality but the emotional and mental torment inflicted upon these people who are first stolen from their homes by their own race, and then kept enslaved by white masters from a country and culture totally alien to their own. To keep them 'in their place' they are often separated from husbands and other family members (if they have been able to stay with them thus far), but the worst act by far of these slave owners is the removal of children from their mothers. How many adults are there in the world today whose grandmother or great-grandmother had her baby wrenched away from her. The tragedy has reached down through generation after generation. Like me, you may think you know a lot about this subject, but I still found a couple of things to surprise me, most especially the role of the British in the so-called 'repatriation' of thousands of slaves. It's a part of British history that deserves to be taught in schools. Very well written. I give it the highest recommendation.

I cannot use the word 'enjoyable' for this book. I could use many other words to explain how this book made me feel. It was deeply moving and at times horrific and it made me feel ashamed that one human being could carry out such atrocities to another person because of the colour of their skin. It was well written and even though it is fiction there is a strong element of actual facts woven into the story. Once you start reading it you simply do not want to stop.

It hurt to read this, but I couldn’t put it down. Although a work of fiction, it carries a lot of historical fact…..it’s indeed amazing how barbaric the so called “civilised” were, and continue to be.

A powerful historical account of an incredible woman's journey, from being captured at the age of 12,from her family and tribe to slavers, to a life of toil and opression for survival. Lawrence Hill presents Aminata, the most powerful literary heroin I have seen created . Based on historical factual events of what thousands of Africans endured less than three centuries ago, with no choice. This follows Aminatas painful journey from captivity in the mid 1700s , to her final days as an older lady helping abultionists in London in 1802. The narrative, voice and senses brought on by this Canadian writer is unique. This is a tragic and mesmerising novel which nearly brought tears to my eyes. An incredible womans travels for survival , written in the first person, spanning five decades as she travels across lands and oceans as a 11 year old girl slave to South Carolina - USA where she endures life as a slave she moves to New York, then eventually over the boarder to Nova Scotia Canada to become a free woman. Her desperation to return to Africa is some what fulfilled with more tragedies. This has been the most sattisfying novel I have read this decade, I noticed it recently as the illustrated edition at a book shop around Young Street area Toronto and was drawn to it and had to download it to my Kindle , its my best ever Kindle choice . I'll definitely be reading other Hill novels but no it'll be tough to find one to match The Book of Negroes.

I found The Book of Negroes to be a truly absorbing book. It's a work of fiction, based on historical fact and tells the story, via 1st person narration, of Aminata, an 11-year old African girl who is snatched away from her happy village home by slave traders. She then describes the humiliation and cruelty she endures during a gruelling march across Africa to the coast, then throughout a terrible sea journey on a slave ship to America where she is sold into slavery, with all its attendant cruelties and abuse, both mental and physical. Aminata never loses sight of her intention to return one day to her homeland, and her desire to be educated, against the most overwhelming odds. Although this story is fiction, it is based on fact, and the title is taken from the record made by the British Army of the slaves they transported to a new life in Canada - a document which apparently exists today. This is a big book, but don't be deterred by that - I found it a really compelling read - harrowing in parts, but uplifting in others. One of the best books I've read in a long time.

I really enjoyed this book but felt it was spoilt by an unrealistic ending. I thought I knew a fair bit about the slave trade but was quite shocked by some of the facts written in this book.

Well written and awe inspiring. This book tells an amazing story and grabs you from start to finish. I could not put it down. As to be expected, given the subject matter, there are very sad and frustrating parts that really make you think how human beings could act the way they do. But there are also parts of great kindness and inspiration throughout. Could not recommend this book enough.