Washington Black - Esi Edugyan

Washington Black

By Esi Edugyan

  • Release Date: 2018-09-18
  • Genre: Black Literature
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 504 Ratings

Description

MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • “A gripping historical narrative exploring both the bounds of slavery and what it means to be truly free.” —Vanity Fair

Eleven-year-old George Washington Black—or Wash—a field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is initially terrified when he is chosen as the manservant of his master’s brother. To his surprise, however, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist. Soon Wash is initiated into a world where a flying machine can carry a man across the sky, where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning, and where two people, separated by an impossible divide, can begin to see each other as human.
 
But when a man is killed and a bounty is placed on Wash’s head, they must abandon everything and flee together. Over the course of their travels, what brings Wash and Christopher together will tear them apart, propelling Wash ever farther across the globe in search of his true self. Spanning the Caribbean to the frozen Far North, London to Morocco, Washington Black is a story of self-invention and betrayal, of love and redemption, and of a world destroyed and made whole again.

Reviews

  • Such a great book

    5
    By Gbhs2017
    I’m so upset about the ending!!! What an amazing book!
  • Not Quite As Advertised

    3
    By Skyler06
    Although this book received a lot of acclaim, I ended feeling unsatisfied. The book is unique enough for a slave runaway story and has some strong writing, but I never found it to be extremely captivating. There were moments in the development of characters’ relationships that felt unnatural and/or undeveloped. The writer’s inclusion of art appreciation was quite nice and there was thought put into the development of the main character, but yet in still left something to be desired.
  • Just read the sample

    4
    By Tro9714
    The Opening reminds me of Albert Camus’s “The stranger”’s opening.

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