Stephen

This is the second novel I've read recounting the experience of black slaves in America—the first of which being Alex Haley's phenomenal Roots—and the first that was written in a first-person perspective. And, like the aforementioned Roots, this novel deeply moved me. I believe that it's extremely important to capture the experience of the enslaved African-American woman in America specifically, as they've arguably endured the most atrocities as anyone in this country. In spite of this being a recounting of Harriet Jacobs's life, I often found myself wishing dearly for her escape, and later her happiness once free from the chains of slavery.

A great, if somewhat depressing, read, I found this book entertaining in the same way that someone would find a book on war entertaining, getting invested in the small victories and key locations that played a part in the history of the war of the territories in wrestling, even as I knew how the story ends.