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Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl
Kidnapped from Galway, Ireland, as a young girl, shipped to Barbados, and forced to work the land alongside African slaves, Cot Daley's life has been shaped by injustice. In this stunning debut novel, Kate McCafferty re-creates, through Cot's story, the history of the more than fifty thousand Irish who were sold as indentured servants to Caribbean plantation owners during the seventeenth century. As Cot tells her story-the brutal journey to Barbados, the harrowing years of fieldwork on the sugarcane plantations, her marriage to an African slave and rebel leader, and the fate of her children—her testimony reveals an exceptional woman's astonishing life.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2002
64 people are currently reading
1076 people want to read
About the author
Kate McCafferty
1 book8 followersKate McCafferty was born in the United States and received her Ph.D. in English. Since then she has taught English in colleges all over the world. She has published essays, poems, and short fiction pieces in a number of publications. Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 118 reviews
June 14, 2009
Had I not been conducting genealogical research on the Newton family, I would never have found this wonderful book. With a title too akin to typical modern "trash" novels, it would have stayed on the shelf.
What a delight it was to find it! I would highly recommend it to my AP students, or to anyone who would like to know more about the slavery experience, or to the development of early plantations in Barbados.
Book is well researched historically and suitable for academic audiences. Beautiful prose style, even poetical at times. Based on historical accuracy, although still a marvelous novel.
What a delight it was to find it! I would highly recommend it to my AP students, or to anyone who would like to know more about the slavery experience, or to the development of early plantations in Barbados.
Book is well researched historically and suitable for academic audiences. Beautiful prose style, even poetical at times. Based on historical accuracy, although still a marvelous novel.
January 7, 2021
Fun book, good read, my only complaint is the bit of ambiguity at the very end of the book. I can't figure out what that ending means (maybe I'm just dense) and it's somewhat souring my overall opinion of the book. Otherwise, one of the best books depicting slavery that I've ever read.
March 15, 2013
I'm still waffling between two and three stars on this one. The book is about what I expected it to be. Aside from the initial hook of it being the story of an Irishwoman who forms close ties with her fellow African slaves in Barbados and participates in a rebellion, it's actually not an especially creative or surprising work. I don't doubt that the book is well researched, but unfortunately, the mentalities of the characters are so much what you'd expect that they come across as flat. The writing is better than serviceable - occasionally it's even quite absorbing. There are strange moments where the author seems to get a bit bored and switches from recorded first person testimony to third person summary, which is so random that it's almost amusing.
It's not a must-read by any means. I read it because I was interested in the implicit Irish-African comparison, but overall, I think it's a pretty skip-able novel.
It's not a must-read by any means. I read it because I was interested in the implicit Irish-African comparison, but overall, I think it's a pretty skip-able novel.
April 6, 2010
Cot Quashey, or Cot Daley as she was known before she got married, narrates a tale spanning her entire life for a British scribe who is subject to the British Governor of Barbados. Cot is a prisoner when we enter the story who is charged with telling about her part in the slave uprising of 1675 (I think, can't quite remember exact years). By this point in the story, Cot has lived most of her life in indentured servitude or slavery (sometimes they were interchangeable), although she was captured and sold by Irish serf/ slave dealers in her homeland of Ireland when she was ten years old. Cot promises to tell her part in the uprising only if she is allowed to tell her whole story in her own words. The scribe, Peter Coote, grudgingly relents and agrees to hear her whole story.
I couldn't help but think of "Roots" by Alex Haley, which I am currently reading as well on and off, during different parts of "Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl." In Kate McAfferty's novel, Cot's description of the time on the slave ship was much shorter and not as graphic as those in "Roots," but some of the similarities are striking: the time below deck being rife with human waste, rats, and uncertainties at how the crew would punish its captives next; sleeping conditions being uncomfortable and painful with raw wounds being rubbed by bare boards; less than adequate food; having no sense of place or direction or time or when the journey will end. Of course, it is also problematic to compare these two stories for other reasons. Cot's story and that of Kunta Kinte ("Roots") are vastly different in most ways, especially the frames of cultural reference. Cot having been from a major Irish city (Galway) in the 1600s had already learned English as a child. She was also familiar with British culture having grown up in Ireland, and so her captors and slavers were familiar to her in the way that they looked and in their communication. For Kunta Kinte, his cultural frame of reference was worlds apart, having been born and raised in an African country (The Gambia) in the mid-1700s, in a Muslim community, speaking a language called Mandinka (also the name of the tribe to which he belonged). He began to hear about the "tu bob," or whites, and how they would steal people away or kill them for no apparent reason, but he did not encounter one until he was 17, when he was beaten and taken away to a tu bob ship. Having never seen a tu bob before, and knowing the stories he had heard of them from his father and others, he was disgusted and terrified at their looks, their behavior, their language, and their smell. I believe Kunta's captors were British. For Cot, she would've been familiar with all of this already from her British captors and slavers.
Still, I kept remembering "Roots" as I read along in "Testimony." Though the two stories are separate in time and space, and vastly different in many ways, I was also struck at how powerless the main characters of both books were. Both stories have had a profound effect on my thinking of slavery. Perhaps it was how well both characters and their narratives were written; perhaps it was easier for me to relate to the cultural context of being a white/ Irish/ European slave than an African slave and then being able to relate some of the similarities in both that gave me a broader picture of what it was to be a slave; perhaps it was a combination of those and other things. And I think back to reading "I Cried, You Didn't Listen" by Dwight Abbott, who recounts his horrendous experiences in the California juvenile incarceration system. Now I can match up the pictures I've seen comparing sketches of slave ships and their cargo and sketches of architectural plans for modern-day prisons. "Slave Ships on Land" they say. Absolutely.
Because of the overwhelming feeling I get from these accounts of helplessness, hopelessness, and complete power given over to the slaver/ prison guard with absolutely no chance for freedom from someone else's overlording, abuse, and absolute control, I cannot help but see modern prisons as modern versions of slave plantations. I had this anxious feeling reading these accounts, having hope that of course one day, this sympathetic character would "get out," "be free" or "escape." Part of it is my desire for them to be free. Part of it is my anxiety that I have a responsibility to either help get them free or stop contributing/ fight back against a system that guarantees certain people will inevitably be enslaved/ incarcerated. In all cases, the protagonists were occasionally given small reprieves, but spent most of their lives under the abusive and horrendously cruel control of a few wealthy people and their less wealthy enforcers. In each account (Cot, Kunta, and Dwight), the central character was not guilty of any crime, but discriminated against based on some part of who they were (Irish, Black, a vulnerable child, poor, etc.).
The only complaint I might levy against "Testimony" was that it dragged on at times, allowing Cot to go over the most tedious details without a whole lot of description of what was going on around her. I believe part of the reason the author chose to do this was to give the reader a sense of how the scribe was feeling, who constantly butted in to say "Get on with it already!" only to be snubbed and reminded of Cot's agreement to be allowed to tell her whole story. Another reason was to give as much detail to a story seldom told, and while I believe the details are important, there may be less boring ways to tell them. Then again, there may not.
I couldn't help but think of "Roots" by Alex Haley, which I am currently reading as well on and off, during different parts of "Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl." In Kate McAfferty's novel, Cot's description of the time on the slave ship was much shorter and not as graphic as those in "Roots," but some of the similarities are striking: the time below deck being rife with human waste, rats, and uncertainties at how the crew would punish its captives next; sleeping conditions being uncomfortable and painful with raw wounds being rubbed by bare boards; less than adequate food; having no sense of place or direction or time or when the journey will end. Of course, it is also problematic to compare these two stories for other reasons. Cot's story and that of Kunta Kinte ("Roots") are vastly different in most ways, especially the frames of cultural reference. Cot having been from a major Irish city (Galway) in the 1600s had already learned English as a child. She was also familiar with British culture having grown up in Ireland, and so her captors and slavers were familiar to her in the way that they looked and in their communication. For Kunta Kinte, his cultural frame of reference was worlds apart, having been born and raised in an African country (The Gambia) in the mid-1700s, in a Muslim community, speaking a language called Mandinka (also the name of the tribe to which he belonged). He began to hear about the "tu bob," or whites, and how they would steal people away or kill them for no apparent reason, but he did not encounter one until he was 17, when he was beaten and taken away to a tu bob ship. Having never seen a tu bob before, and knowing the stories he had heard of them from his father and others, he was disgusted and terrified at their looks, their behavior, their language, and their smell. I believe Kunta's captors were British. For Cot, she would've been familiar with all of this already from her British captors and slavers.
Still, I kept remembering "Roots" as I read along in "Testimony." Though the two stories are separate in time and space, and vastly different in many ways, I was also struck at how powerless the main characters of both books were. Both stories have had a profound effect on my thinking of slavery. Perhaps it was how well both characters and their narratives were written; perhaps it was easier for me to relate to the cultural context of being a white/ Irish/ European slave than an African slave and then being able to relate some of the similarities in both that gave me a broader picture of what it was to be a slave; perhaps it was a combination of those and other things. And I think back to reading "I Cried, You Didn't Listen" by Dwight Abbott, who recounts his horrendous experiences in the California juvenile incarceration system. Now I can match up the pictures I've seen comparing sketches of slave ships and their cargo and sketches of architectural plans for modern-day prisons. "Slave Ships on Land" they say. Absolutely.
Because of the overwhelming feeling I get from these accounts of helplessness, hopelessness, and complete power given over to the slaver/ prison guard with absolutely no chance for freedom from someone else's overlording, abuse, and absolute control, I cannot help but see modern prisons as modern versions of slave plantations. I had this anxious feeling reading these accounts, having hope that of course one day, this sympathetic character would "get out," "be free" or "escape." Part of it is my desire for them to be free. Part of it is my anxiety that I have a responsibility to either help get them free or stop contributing/ fight back against a system that guarantees certain people will inevitably be enslaved/ incarcerated. In all cases, the protagonists were occasionally given small reprieves, but spent most of their lives under the abusive and horrendously cruel control of a few wealthy people and their less wealthy enforcers. In each account (Cot, Kunta, and Dwight), the central character was not guilty of any crime, but discriminated against based on some part of who they were (Irish, Black, a vulnerable child, poor, etc.).
The only complaint I might levy against "Testimony" was that it dragged on at times, allowing Cot to go over the most tedious details without a whole lot of description of what was going on around her. I believe part of the reason the author chose to do this was to give the reader a sense of how the scribe was feeling, who constantly butted in to say "Get on with it already!" only to be snubbed and reminded of Cot's agreement to be allowed to tell her whole story. Another reason was to give as much detail to a story seldom told, and while I believe the details are important, there may be less boring ways to tell them. Then again, there may not.
Read
April 13, 2009Well, I gave it up until page 106, which is a bit over the halfway point. I just didn't really care about the characters. At all. There were bits, here and there, that would catch my eye, but then it was back to the same ho-hum-ness. *shrug* The premise is interesting, but the style just didn't work for me.
May 27, 2014
The book is testimony of an Irish slave woman, telling an "official", while he writes it down, of how the Irish and African came to revolt against their owners. She agrees to tell all, if she can tell it "her" way, in detail, from the beginning. We then hear of the abomination of being poor, and Irish, led her and thousands to slavery in the Caribbean.
Immediately, upon starting the book, I started an internet search to get more information, and it was astounding. From 1641 to 1652, over 500,000 Irish were killed by the English and another 300,000 were sold as slaves. Ireland’s population fell from about 1,500,000 to 600,000 in one single decade. Families were ripped apart as the British did not allow Irish dads to take their wives and children with them across the Atlantic. This led to a helpless population of homeless women and children. Britain’s solution was to auction them off as well.
During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In this decade, 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and Virginia. Another 30,000 Irish men and women were also transported and sold to the highest bidder. In 1656, Cromwell ordered that 2000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold as slaves to English settlers.
This was not an autobiography or memoir, but it led me to further research these horrible crimes and gain new insight into the slavery trade that first started with the Irish, before beginning with African slaves.
Immediately, upon starting the book, I started an internet search to get more information, and it was astounding. From 1641 to 1652, over 500,000 Irish were killed by the English and another 300,000 were sold as slaves. Ireland’s population fell from about 1,500,000 to 600,000 in one single decade. Families were ripped apart as the British did not allow Irish dads to take their wives and children with them across the Atlantic. This led to a helpless population of homeless women and children. Britain’s solution was to auction them off as well.
During the 1650s, over 100,000 Irish children between the ages of 10 and 14 were taken from their parents and sold as slaves in the West Indies, Virginia and New England. In this decade, 52,000 Irish (mostly women and children) were sold to Barbados and Virginia. Another 30,000 Irish men and women were also transported and sold to the highest bidder. In 1656, Cromwell ordered that 2000 Irish children be taken to Jamaica and sold as slaves to English settlers.
This was not an autobiography or memoir, but it led me to further research these horrible crimes and gain new insight into the slavery trade that first started with the Irish, before beginning with African slaves.
February 19, 2017
Excellent. Actually between a 4 and a 5.
I understand why many reviewers might not have enjoyed this book The narrative style used is different than most authors would use. In this case, as a narrative from a woman who has suffered extreme isolation and deprivation it fits quite naturally.
Covering an era of extreme religious turmoil not only in Christian history but also Muslim history I guess I can see readers having an attitude of blech, "what is going on here". This is a part of American history not covered in the textbooks. It is also a part of history which a large part of our population would deny ever happened if they were to read it in the current media. But condensing those macro events into the life of one woman somehow works in this case.
This should be a book that is read with the intent of delving further into a period of history that is not recognized or understood very well by our modern society. The number of parallels to current events is uncanny, but you have to pay close attention or you might miss them.
I understand why many reviewers might not have enjoyed this book The narrative style used is different than most authors would use. In this case, as a narrative from a woman who has suffered extreme isolation and deprivation it fits quite naturally.
Covering an era of extreme religious turmoil not only in Christian history but also Muslim history I guess I can see readers having an attitude of blech, "what is going on here". This is a part of American history not covered in the textbooks. It is also a part of history which a large part of our population would deny ever happened if they were to read it in the current media. But condensing those macro events into the life of one woman somehow works in this case.
This should be a book that is read with the intent of delving further into a period of history that is not recognized or understood very well by our modern society. The number of parallels to current events is uncanny, but you have to pay close attention or you might miss them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2011
Interesting Read. Recently discovered that one of my ancestors was kidnapped from Scotland as a young girl and sold into indentured service around 1690. I was astounded by the numbers of people who kidnapped from Ireland and Scotland and forced to become indentured servants. Almost unbelievable! Am also planning to read "The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom. It's a similar story that takes place in Virginia and has some excellent reviews.
February 24, 2017
I wanted to like this book, but the way it was written (as an interview of past events) made it somewhat hard to follow, and lifeless. This story could have been written so much better than it was.
March 21, 2010
I recently read Kathleen Grissom's 'The Kitchen House' about an indentured servant from Ireland who works on a tobacco plantation in southern Virginia. She arrives when she is seven years old and the story follows her to adulthood. The novel is primarily narrated in her voice and she is a wonderfully realistic and sympathetic character.
So, following that novel, which I loved and highly recommend, this was interesting but didn't have the emotional depth of 'The Kitchen House'. I'm glad I read it, but if you are thinking of reading this novel and 'The Kitchen House' I would recommend you read this first.
'Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl' is a sad and moving examination of indentured servitude and British Imperialism. Cotleen Daly was nearly eleven years old when she and the other children of her village went a-wrenning on Saint Stephen's Day. She never saw Ireland again, she was kidnapped and sent on a slave ship to Barbados.
Cot is telling Peter Coote her life's story. Coote is a doctor seeking the favor of the Governor of Barbados and he's assisting with the investigation into the plot surrounding an uprising of African slaves and Irish Indentured Servants. Cot agrees to give her testimony about the uprising on the condition that Coote records her whole story not only the information that the Governor desires regarding the uprising. And so it is her voice that tells how she came to Barbados and her life on the island.
I liked the writing, here's an excerpt; "They call me Cot Quashey now, or Quashey's Cot, but I was born Cot Daley, in the city of Galway, in the nation of Ireland. That would have been some time before the massacre of the Protestants, for I was above ten years of age when I was stolen for Barbados."
Again an interesting story and I'm glad I read it. If you think you might like it I would encourage you to give it a try. It's a short novel at just over two hundred pages and it's another one that I recommend to teachers who cover this period in history. Then when you're done with this read 'The Kitchen House' by Kathleen Grissom.
So, following that novel, which I loved and highly recommend, this was interesting but didn't have the emotional depth of 'The Kitchen House'. I'm glad I read it, but if you are thinking of reading this novel and 'The Kitchen House' I would recommend you read this first.
'Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl' is a sad and moving examination of indentured servitude and British Imperialism. Cotleen Daly was nearly eleven years old when she and the other children of her village went a-wrenning on Saint Stephen's Day. She never saw Ireland again, she was kidnapped and sent on a slave ship to Barbados.
Cot is telling Peter Coote her life's story. Coote is a doctor seeking the favor of the Governor of Barbados and he's assisting with the investigation into the plot surrounding an uprising of African slaves and Irish Indentured Servants. Cot agrees to give her testimony about the uprising on the condition that Coote records her whole story not only the information that the Governor desires regarding the uprising. And so it is her voice that tells how she came to Barbados and her life on the island.
I liked the writing, here's an excerpt; "They call me Cot Quashey now, or Quashey's Cot, but I was born Cot Daley, in the city of Galway, in the nation of Ireland. That would have been some time before the massacre of the Protestants, for I was above ten years of age when I was stolen for Barbados."
Again an interesting story and I'm glad I read it. If you think you might like it I would encourage you to give it a try. It's a short novel at just over two hundred pages and it's another one that I recommend to teachers who cover this period in history. Then when you're done with this read 'The Kitchen House' by Kathleen Grissom.
November 7, 2015
As a child, Cot Daley was kidnapped from her home in Ireland and taken to Barbados, where she was sold as a slave.
Now after a failed rebellion by Africans and Irish, Cot is brought in for questioning. Cot agrees to tell Peter Coote about the uprising, but only if he is to write her whole life story as she tells it.
This book is historical fiction about a little-known part of history. It has been more than ten years since it was released and it seems that since then, there has been more discovered about white slavery.
For many years, I studied African-American history and learned all about the cruelty of slavery. There is an endless supply of books about that part of history.
I'm Cherokee, Welsh, and German, and a number of years ago I began researching Cherokee and Native history in general. In my studies, I found that Natives were also slaves in America. I never learned that in school. And so with that discovery, I decided to google search white slavery.
I was able to find some articles, and a few books on the subject though I have only read one book so far about it. Apparently there was also white slavery in America. The information is there to research, but just not quite as easy to find.
Although I didn't much enjoy the book, I think it is great the author decided to do a historical fiction about a little known, and fairly well-hidden part of history.
I think how the book was written and that I didn't feel a connection to the main character stopped me from getting into the book. So, it was just okay for me.
Now after a failed rebellion by Africans and Irish, Cot is brought in for questioning. Cot agrees to tell Peter Coote about the uprising, but only if he is to write her whole life story as she tells it.
This book is historical fiction about a little-known part of history. It has been more than ten years since it was released and it seems that since then, there has been more discovered about white slavery.
For many years, I studied African-American history and learned all about the cruelty of slavery. There is an endless supply of books about that part of history.
I'm Cherokee, Welsh, and German, and a number of years ago I began researching Cherokee and Native history in general. In my studies, I found that Natives were also slaves in America. I never learned that in school. And so with that discovery, I decided to google search white slavery.
I was able to find some articles, and a few books on the subject though I have only read one book so far about it. Apparently there was also white slavery in America. The information is there to research, but just not quite as easy to find.
Although I didn't much enjoy the book, I think it is great the author decided to do a historical fiction about a little known, and fairly well-hidden part of history.
I think how the book was written and that I didn't feel a connection to the main character stopped me from getting into the book. So, it was just okay for me.
April 28, 2015
I'm having a hard time rating and reviewing this. Knowing that while this character is fictional, these events and atrocities happened to very real people, and that hurts my soul a little. While that is true, I just could not get myself to like Cot, and that took me out of the story. I'm not really sure why exactly I disliked her, but I did.
It is a very striking novel however, and would be good for teens to get more perspective on such events, as (as far as when I was in High School a few years ago) it is skipped over in History classes. I asked my sister (20) and her fiancé (24), and neither of them knew that any other group, besides Africans, were taken as slaves. So it would be a good tool for learning.
I did find it fascinating and informative, I just couldn't connect to the story as much as I would have liked.
It is a very striking novel however, and would be good for teens to get more perspective on such events, as (as far as when I was in High School a few years ago) it is skipped over in History classes. I asked my sister (20) and her fiancé (24), and neither of them knew that any other group, besides Africans, were taken as slaves. So it would be a good tool for learning.
I did find it fascinating and informative, I just couldn't connect to the story as much as I would have liked.
May 8, 2016
The premise (scribing her story) felt thin to me, but eventually I got into the story anyway.
I loved that it gave a history that I was unfamiliar with & that it kept its rough edges instead of trying to soften things up and it was very atmospheric.
The Englishman (Coote) taking down her story is a great portrait of the perspective and abuse of privilege; and Cot's initial prejudice is an illustration of the racism fostered between groups to keep them divided. Coote seems an intentionally ironic character, as he buys into those same myths and ideas while struggling to better his own sorry state, clinging to promises that won't be kept in favor of a better life.
This book is a vinaigrette - equal parts flavor, oil and acid. It's a good edition to a reading menu if you're looking for diversity & unaware of this part of history (like me). Glad I read it.
I loved that it gave a history that I was unfamiliar with & that it kept its rough edges instead of trying to soften things up and it was very atmospheric.
The Englishman (Coote) taking down her story is a great portrait of the perspective and abuse of privilege; and Cot's initial prejudice is an illustration of the racism fostered between groups to keep them divided. Coote seems an intentionally ironic character, as he buys into those same myths and ideas while struggling to better his own sorry state, clinging to promises that won't be kept in favor of a better life.
This book is a vinaigrette - equal parts flavor, oil and acid. It's a good edition to a reading menu if you're looking for diversity & unaware of this part of history (like me). Glad I read it.
May 5, 2014
This is an amazing, heartbreaking book about a time in history that many would like forgotten. It is brilliant and important. Testimony should be on reading lists everywhere.
That said, it is true to its title and is a testimony where the main character is telling her story to a man who is writing it all down so it certainly breaks the 'show don't tell' rule in a huge way. But it's worth it because it is that good.
That said, it is true to its title and is a testimony where the main character is telling her story to a man who is writing it all down so it certainly breaks the 'show don't tell' rule in a huge way. But it's worth it because it is that good.
March 3, 2012
A wonderfully written tale told in a passionate voice, describing the harrowing servitude of an Irish woman kidnapped as a child from Ireland and sold into slavery on the island of Barbados in the 1600's. An eye-opening look at an era of brutality and a story that reveals the little-known fact that white slaves as well as blacks helped build the British colonies. This is a compelling novel.
September 29, 2014
This book was amazing and moving. As an African American woman I had no idea such horror as slavery had been visited upon the Irish. I will share this book with my own children when I have them. Irish slavery is not a subject discussed anywhere that I have heard or seen. Just as "12 Years A Slave" was made into a film I believe this subject should so be addressed on film.
October 1, 2016
This book was hard to follow at times because of the language used. There were several times that i wanted to put it down, but, trying to follow my policy of finishing what I started, I stuck with it. I did learn a bit of history of the enslavement of the Irish in Barbados before Africans were brought over.
December 21, 2009
This was a really enjoyable read that kept my interest. It is historical fiction, and if you enjoy that type of novel, this is a good one. Based on an Irish slave in Barbados. It was a part of history I didn't know anything about. Her story really pulls you in.
January 1, 2010
very interesting novelization of early days of British colony at Barbados based on actual facts
September 19, 2010
I had no idea that the Irish sent exiles to the Caribbean Islands to work as slaves- a horrible, brutal existence. Quite interesting to learn about this little-know chapter of slavery.
March 3, 2011
As Cromwell conquers Ireland, thousands of Irish are sent to the Caribbean as indentured servants/slaves. An interesting look at little known events in the history of slavery in the Americas.
July 15, 2011
Interesting. I liked the real history of Irish and Scots people who were indentured in to slavery in Barbados. The story itself was sad. It kept my attention.
Want to read
March 26, 2014Şu kapağın güzelliğine bakın ya! Harika, bayıldım <3
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I just fell in love with the cover. So beautiful <3
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I just fell in love with the cover. So beautiful <3
July 15, 2015
THis really got into the nitty gritty of slavery / indentured servant. It was not all glossy and the master takes in the slave girl and she lives happily ever after.
December 15, 2020
I couldn't put this book down. The plot and the lyrical style of Cot's narrative captivated me. The history of slavery on Barbados in the late 1600's was new to me, and I was surprised to learn of the various sub-categories of slaves, indentured servants, and the different sources for each. The cruelty and inhumanity was hard to face as a reader, and I believe the author didn't try to hide this from the reader, or gloss over or romanticize it in any way. The spirit of endurance and adaptations that people used to survive and even thrive came across, even in the midst of the harshness of the conditions.
I had a little bit of trouble with the rationale for telling her story to the doctor. I was expecting more of a conclusion, I guess. I also was expecting him to be more impacted or changed by hearing her story. I think perhaps the fact that he wasn't is part of how slavery persisted - people pushed from their consciousness the reality of what was happening. I logged on to GoodReads hoping to find reviews and hear others' thoughts. Will check back (I miss my book club!)
I recommend the book to readers to want to get a better knowledge of slavery, and those who like historical fiction. But be prepared for heart-wrenching sadness.
I had a little bit of trouble with the rationale for telling her story to the doctor. I was expecting more of a conclusion, I guess. I also was expecting him to be more impacted or changed by hearing her story. I think perhaps the fact that he wasn't is part of how slavery persisted - people pushed from their consciousness the reality of what was happening. I logged on to GoodReads hoping to find reviews and hear others' thoughts. Will check back (I miss my book club!)
I recommend the book to readers to want to get a better knowledge of slavery, and those who like historical fiction. But be prepared for heart-wrenching sadness.
July 11, 2023
Stopped on page 55 out of 204. A group of poor Irish girls are kidnapped and carted off to be slaves in Barbados. The story is based on factual accounts, but this particular story is about a fictional character. Before Africans were enslaved in the colonial era, people from Ireland, Scotland and Wales were enslaved by the British. In this story, the girl who was enslaved in Barbados is brought to visit a man who documents her story. The problem is that I really couldn’t understand it, and I finally gave up out of frustration. And I don’t have enough time or the interest to go look up definitions.
I wonder if, since it’s a work of fiction, if it’s really necessary for the character’s monologue to be written in such a dialect so as to lose modern readers along the way. The meaning of the story gets lost if the reader is unable to grasp the language to get to the point. Who is the audience that writer is aiming for? I can understand maintaining this kind of dialect if the story is based on a real life person, but this is a work of fiction.
I wonder if, since it’s a work of fiction, if it’s really necessary for the character’s monologue to be written in such a dialect so as to lose modern readers along the way. The meaning of the story gets lost if the reader is unable to grasp the language to get to the point. Who is the audience that writer is aiming for? I can understand maintaining this kind of dialect if the story is based on a real life person, but this is a work of fiction.
March 25, 2023
I picked this book up at the thrift store because the blurb sounded interesting; an Irish girl is sold into slavery in Barbados, becomes close with fellow African slaves, and is involved in a slave rebellion.
The book is set in the late 1600’s and, to me, the author accurately portrayed the linguistic style of speaking. Some of the comparisons between Cot’s personal discoveries as a slave and the interviewer’s are thought provoking. However, the ending was very vague and left me feeling confused.
I don’t think it’s a bad book to read, especially if you’re interested in the Irish slave trade. There is a preface and an afterward that give succinct yet informational details about how the Irish slave trade evolved into the African slave trade, which I thought was helpful. The characters felt a bit flat at times, but I still think the book is good, if only to talk about a time in history many conveniently forget.
The book is set in the late 1600’s and, to me, the author accurately portrayed the linguistic style of speaking. Some of the comparisons between Cot’s personal discoveries as a slave and the interviewer’s are thought provoking. However, the ending was very vague and left me feeling confused.
I don’t think it’s a bad book to read, especially if you’re interested in the Irish slave trade. There is a preface and an afterward that give succinct yet informational details about how the Irish slave trade evolved into the African slave trade, which I thought was helpful. The characters felt a bit flat at times, but I still think the book is good, if only to talk about a time in history many conveniently forget.
January 24, 2018
[3.5 stars]
I largely enjoyed the book, provided I suspended belief on two issues:
*Language. Cot's language – vocabulary, imagery, variation – is far too sophisticated for the character, who is entirely uneducated. She would have also likely used many more patois words from the nationalities and dialects she was surrounded by in Barbados. Instead, her language is proper, descriptive, and full of words she likely wouldn't have had access to.
*Framing. The "tell-me-your-story-for-posterity's-sake" is old and tired. Coote interrupts just to remind the reader of his existence, usually in the form of complaints, then he settles back down.
I largely enjoyed the book, provided I suspended belief on two issues:
*Language. Cot's language – vocabulary, imagery, variation – is far too sophisticated for the character, who is entirely uneducated. She would have also likely used many more patois words from the nationalities and dialects she was surrounded by in Barbados. Instead, her language is proper, descriptive, and full of words she likely wouldn't have had access to.
*Framing. The "tell-me-your-story-for-posterity's-sake" is old and tired. Coote interrupts just to remind the reader of his existence, usually in the form of complaints, then he settles back down.
June 18, 2017
Well-written. Fascinating topic of which I'm pretty sure most people are unaware. If you're interested in the history of the English colonies in North America, give this a read. It's actually not that long and only took me as long as it did because I had to set it aside while I handled some personal issues.
August 4, 2017
Not a true account. A made up story. Very hard to follow. The writer is constantly describing something she can see in her mind, but not with enough description for the reader to follow along. Some of the accounts are long winded and come to little or no point. I would not recommend this book.
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