Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts

Really wish I could rave about this. The memoir parts were phenomenal: effective, deeply moving. They conveyed Hall's disappointment over so many lost threads; frustration over the many closed doors she encountered and the ways she's been unjustly treated; her heartbreak over all the lives destroyed and reduced to mere entries on a ledger. Her use of excerpts from ledgers and logs is brilliant: their coldness reached deep into my heart, infusing me with despair over a species — my species — that could so easily perpetrate such abominations on fellow humans. The palimpsest-style illustrations in these sections were beautifully done.The fictionalized parts were... pretty good. (Not the dialog, but there was little enough of that). The stories added a personal touch, helping me imagine that past and the individual souls who lived and fought and suffered.The jumping between the two — that did not work for me at all. It took me a while to realize what was happening, and I tried my best to accept it and love it, but couldn't. Maybe there's a way to read it without feeling jolted out; some mindset; maybe on second reading I'll be more prepared and able to understand. Right now, first reading, right on the heels of the exquisite [b:Caste 51152447 Caste The Origins of Our Discontents Isabel Wilkerson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597267568l/51152447.SY75.jpg 75937597], I just can't justify the five stars I so badly wanted to give.(That doesn't mean you shouldn't read this. YOU SHOULD. It's informative, haunting, beautiful.)