Ajeemah and His Son

by James Berry

In 1807, at the height of the slave trade, Ajeemah and his son, Atu, are snatched by slave traders from their home in Africa while en route to deliver a dowry to Atu's bride-to-be. Ajeemah and Atu are then taken to Jamaica and sold to neighboring plantations'never to see one another again. "Readers will come away with a new sense of respect for those who maintained their dignity and humanity under the cruelest of circumstances."'SLJ. "Each moment here of the Jamaican-born poet's terse, melodious narrative is laden with emotion. . . . Brilliant, complex, powerfully written."––K. Notable Children's Book of 1993 (ALA)
1993 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
1993 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
1992 Books for Youth Editors' Choices (BL)
Notable 1992 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)
Bulletin Blue Ribbons 1992 (C)

1993 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
Children's Books of 1992 (Library of Congress)
1993 Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction Award

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Africa

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

James Berry, OBE, Hon FRSL (1924-2017) was a black Jamaican poet and writer who settled in England in the 1940s. His poetry is notable for using a mixture of standard English and Jamaican Patois.

Reviews

[TM · Rating 5 out of 5]

God, it's such a well-written story. So heartbreaking yet so true, all the way till the end.

I hadn't known much about Jamaica and its history of African people till reading this, but I'm glad I learned a little more about them now through stories of Ajeemah and his kid. James Berry writes unapologetically and that's been effective in making me ache, so I've been quoting lines as I read.

The turning point of both characters separately losing their method of escape, but one choosing to die and the other choosing to make a new life in Jamaica, drives home the point that there was no returning to Africa: it was adapt or die. Individually, they couldn't do anything to topple the system of oppression and slavery; Ajeemah's and Atu's plans were each thwarted. Change could only come from from the top, from those in power — the British in this case — amending laws.

But what really got me was the ending: Ajeemah's Jamaica-born daughter, Sisi, crying in guilt because she preferred having an English name, but she knew she couldn't tell her community that given what they'd gone through. Oh man. That hit home. The Transatlantic slave trade and the British empire might be no more, but living in a postcolonial world doesn't equate to living in a world devoid of the impacts of colonisation, especially for the communities forced to assimilate into that of the ex-colonial power's.

[Hannah of the Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

An underrated gen! Written by a Jamaican author, this book tells the story of a father and son captured from their home in Ghana in 1807 and taken to Jamaica.

"They want to take away my manhood and nationhood and add them to theirs. They want to take away all my days and nights and add them to theirs. I won't let them. I won't let them."

The characters are instantly relatable and the loss of their context and home hits harder than many other slave narrative stories I've read. This book also doesn't fixate on the horror of physical suffering Ajeemah and Atu endured, though it is mentioned, but rather on the impact slavery has on their personhood, their souls. Like the lack of dignity and freedom.

The prose is melodic and unique. At first I was confused by it - but then I realized it's just an authentically different style. And it works perfectly for this story. The dialogue has a singsong repetitive feel, and the almost poetic narrative all feels very suited to the African context (and probably the Jamaican one, though I'm no expert there). And once they are in Jamaica they often speak in Jamaican creole!

The ending is satisfying but not "happily ever after". The complex consequences of what they endured linger on.

Highly recommend this book.

[Ajiona Lunsford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice short read! At times, the dialogue was hard to follow but after rereading a couple times I was able understand. I loved how in this african diaspora historical read that the main characters were really fighting to get back to their homeland rather than conceding.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like how Atu killed himself at the end. I know it has to be real, but it seemed a little strong.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this because my 9 year was reading it. A quick read that gives a good, heart-breaking portrayal or the time period. Definitely geared more to a younger reader, but relevant to all ages.

[Penny Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA Lit class

[Courtenay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got to page 26 and other far more uplifting books took my attention away from this one. I returned it unfinished. I need happy escapes right now, not heavy books like this.

[Dilan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ajeemah and His Son is about Ajeemah and his son planning Atu's wedding. Ajeemah and his son were captured by slave catchers. Ajeemah and his son were separated they went to different places. Ajeemah was mad of the vision about seeing his son dead so he married some woman that helped him.

I connect this book to Copper Sun. Ajeemah and His Son connect to Copper Son because they both are captured by slave catchers. By the end of the book they find their places in life. They become free people.

I gave this book 2 stars because it wasn't that interesting. I liked Copper Son better because it was more interesting. Its hard to explain but Copper Son was longer and it had more interesting problems.

[Kathleen McKim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short poetic narrative carries a heavy load. Ajeemah and his son, Atu, are captured by slave traders en route to Atu's wedding. After being suddenly uprooted, the two endure the Middle Passage, to be slaves on sugar plantations in the Bahamas. They are split up after that, and each man deals with loss and adjustment in his own way. Appropriate use of the Jamaican patois helps the reader get inside the head of a slave (just a little bit), the saddest part of which is their inability to make contact with their loved ones in Africa. This book would be wonderful for anyone is interested in slave narratives or learning more about the Middle Passage as told through fiction.

[DJ EzRyder ™ (Ravi) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ajeemah and his son is basically about a man named ajeemah and it was the time of slavery. slavery had seized but then it had started again. ajjemah's son sends his father to give his daughter-in-law a pair of slippers but then once his father is gone then slavery begins once again.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fifth grade +.

"A father and his eighteen-year-old son are each affected differently by their experiences as slaves in Jamaica in the early 19th century."

A powerful story for intermediate readers. No graphic language. African dialects. No chapters. An amazing depiction of slave life.

[Akeila · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book and i'm a jamaican so i enjoyed it

[Ricardo Frazier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a good book and i think people should read these types of books more often and ajeemah and his son is both africans.

[Anucha Niankrathok]

Ihhh

[lola Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a heart wrenching story.