Someone Knows My Name / Lawrence Hill - 5*****

[Book Concierge]

Someone Knows My Name – Lawrence Hill
Digital Audiobook performed by Andenrele Ojo.
5*****

Originally published in Canada as The Book of Negroes , Hill’s novel tells the story of Aminata Diallo from 1745 to 1802. Born a free Muslim in Guinea, she is kidnapped and sold into slavery, transported to the province of South Carolina to work the indigo fields. Her skill as a midwife makes her valuable and when she is sold to a wealthy Jewish merchant, she moves from the plantation to a city life in Charles Town. Eventually she travels to New York and gains her freedom, moving first to Nova Scotia, thence to London and traveling back to Africa, before finally settling in London.

What marvelous story telling! I was engaged and interested from beginning to end. I loved Aminata (a/k/a Meena). She’s intelligent, resourceful, emotionally and mentally strong. She’s also a keen observer and a good judge of character. She has the advantage of having been educated by her parents, so she knows how to read and write (in Arabic), and helping her mother as a midwife, she learned some of the other dialects / languages of her area of Africa. On the ship she learns English, then quickly picks up the Goolah dialect when she is on the indigo plantation. She never stops working toward her freedom and takes advantage of every opportunity that presents itself to achieve her goal for herself and her family. She always conducts herself with dignity and a fierce determination.

Hill does not sugarcoat the atrocities of slavery, nor the ingrained prejudices against and mistreatment of people of color. Aminata is blessed by relationships with some whites who are sympathetic, but her place as a slave and/or “lesser Negro” is always evident. Her skill as a midwife, coupled with her ability to read and write and keep books are assets that will help her navigate this new world, but she will not have an easy time of it. There are sickening scenes of brutality, but there are also scenes that show a loving family unit.

Hill populates the novel with a cast of memorable characters: the plantation overseer, the Jewish Lindo family, a free black tavern owner in New York, British officers, a ship’s surgeon, abolitionists and many slaves.

The book is based on historical events. There is a “Book of Negroes” in the archives of Canada and the United States, that lists the African men, women and children who worked for the British or behind British lines during the Revolutionary War. They were promised freedom for their services to the crown, and were transported to various colonies, but most went to Nova Scotia. From there, after years of bad treatment, Black Loyalists gathered to sail to Africa, where they founded Freetown, Sierra Leone. I’m glad I had the text available to read through the author’s notes and list of references, which are not included in the audio

The digital audio was performed by Andenrele Ojo, who did a marvelous job. I really felt as if Meena was telling me her story.


LINK to my review