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honeycoveredpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book was the first novel published by an African American in 1853. Historical fiction and non fiction are my f vorite genres to read. I have done a little research on Thomas Jefferson and is affair with Sally Hemings. It was interesting to read a story written in the 1800 based. With a mix of fiction and non fiction at times this story felt a little scattered. We follow the fictional daughters and then their children. This book was full with so much sadness, families being torn apart and sold into slavery. However the ending was happy.
jrmarr's review against another edition
3.0
This book came as a surprise to me. I enjoyed it (as much as one can enjoy a tale of slavery) and the fact that it was first written around 1853 makes it a unique insight into the institution at the time. It is not a traditional narrative, but rather follows the various stories of the protagonists interspersed with reflections on the history and philosophy of slavery in the United States. Its demonstration of the cruelty of the institution of slavery is chilling - ownership could change on the whim of the owner, the jealousy of his wife, of even the financial circumstances they found themselves in.
mieni's review against another edition
3.0
Of course the book is very different to what we are used to in books today. Apart from the style of writing the book deals with a topic we do not necessarily enjoy: slavery.
Brown tells the story of Clotel, the fictional daughter of a slave and Thomas Jefferson.
Brown presents an sad insight on the reality of slavery throughout the book by telling the reader about their lives.
Brown tells the story of Clotel, the fictional daughter of a slave and Thomas Jefferson.
Brown presents an sad insight on the reality of slavery throughout the book by telling the reader about their lives.
perihan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ralowe's review against another edition
3.0
spoilers i guess"_
real talk: does anyone know the reason william wells brown took all references to thomas jefferson out of the third edition in 1864 and fourth edition in 1867? why did he change the spelling of the title to match the name of his second and youngest child "clotelle brown,"ќ born in 1862 to his second wife, annie elizabeth gray? cultural historian ezra greenspan unsatisfactorily grazes the question in his 2014 600-page biography (*william wells brown: an african american life*, pg 379). i've been chasing racist ectoplasmic traces of enslavement since i picked up this copy of the fourth and jeffersonless edition from craig's friend stephanie syujco's conceptual art collaboration with the friends of the san francisco public library at the san francisco museum of modern art. named "added value"ќ, the installation of tables of books with read-y signage disarranged retail aesthetics to suit a fugitive reorganization of knowledge that featured critical pairings of books shrinkwrapped together; i can't remember what or if this edition of *clotel* was shrinkwrapped to. perhaps it might have been paired in unruly juxtaposition with something that offered some clue for how one might run alongside this supernatural runaway; and/or i could pay better attention. in the edition i read, "clotelle"ќ is the name of the main character whose mom "isabella"ќ in a midpoint climactic sequence, accompanied by engraving, flings herself off a bridge into the potomac to evade slavecathcers; in the 1853 original identical death-before-dishonour sequence, "clotel"ќ is the name of the mother and the main character is named "mary"ќ. this means that wells brown named the fifth and final person he parented into existence after a fictionalized character he adapted from sally heming. but i knew neither that biographical detail nor what i was actually reading in this edition. adrift the devious twisted mists of spectral conspiracy with whether this was ghostwritten, edmund quincy: "i should be a bold man, as well as a vain one, if i should attempt to improve your descriptions of what you have seen and suffered"ќ (quincy quoted in manisha sinha's *the slave's cause: a history of abolition*, pg 428). (anti)whiteness and (un)freedom. overall the novel's frenzy of themes and scenes is gratifying, its nonexclusionary essay looks forward to "BLACK DADA NIHILISMUS,"ќ but why the edit? greenspan dismisses that jefferson's disappearance is censorship (pg. 513, *william wells brown: an african american life*, 2014). yet the readily apparent fucked up whiteness in blackness, the deus ex caucasoid, ensures a refusal to find closure around the question of freedom.
real talk: does anyone know the reason william wells brown took all references to thomas jefferson out of the third edition in 1864 and fourth edition in 1867? why did he change the spelling of the title to match the name of his second and youngest child "clotelle brown,"ќ born in 1862 to his second wife, annie elizabeth gray? cultural historian ezra greenspan unsatisfactorily grazes the question in his 2014 600-page biography (*william wells brown: an african american life*, pg 379). i've been chasing racist ectoplasmic traces of enslavement since i picked up this copy of the fourth and jeffersonless edition from craig's friend stephanie syujco's conceptual art collaboration with the friends of the san francisco public library at the san francisco museum of modern art. named "added value"ќ, the installation of tables of books with read-y signage disarranged retail aesthetics to suit a fugitive reorganization of knowledge that featured critical pairings of books shrinkwrapped together; i can't remember what or if this edition of *clotel* was shrinkwrapped to. perhaps it might have been paired in unruly juxtaposition with something that offered some clue for how one might run alongside this supernatural runaway; and/or i could pay better attention. in the edition i read, "clotelle"ќ is the name of the main character whose mom "isabella"ќ in a midpoint climactic sequence, accompanied by engraving, flings herself off a bridge into the potomac to evade slavecathcers; in the 1853 original identical death-before-dishonour sequence, "clotel"ќ is the name of the mother and the main character is named "mary"ќ. this means that wells brown named the fifth and final person he parented into existence after a fictionalized character he adapted from sally heming. but i knew neither that biographical detail nor what i was actually reading in this edition. adrift the devious twisted mists of spectral conspiracy with whether this was ghostwritten, edmund quincy: "i should be a bold man, as well as a vain one, if i should attempt to improve your descriptions of what you have seen and suffered"ќ (quincy quoted in manisha sinha's *the slave's cause: a history of abolition*, pg 428). (anti)whiteness and (un)freedom. overall the novel's frenzy of themes and scenes is gratifying, its nonexclusionary essay looks forward to "BLACK DADA NIHILISMUS,"ќ but why the edit? greenspan dismisses that jefferson's disappearance is censorship (pg. 513, *william wells brown: an african american life*, 2014). yet the readily apparent fucked up whiteness in blackness, the deus ex caucasoid, ensures a refusal to find closure around the question of freedom.
vivianam0's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
the_booker's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
sarahcoller's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Clotel has been dubbed the first novel published by an African American. I don't think I'd necessarily call it a novel as there's no real running plot throughout. It's really more of a mix of stories along with anecdotal information. He says it best at the end when he speaks of narratives. These are narratives written into story form and collected loosely with the thread of some characters being possible descendants of Thomas Jefferson running throughout. As a piece of literature, it wasn't particularly well-written. As a piece of history, it's invaluable.
These stories were so hard to read and imagine. I have shied away from reading hard things like this concerning cultural atrocities (holocaust, slavery days, child trafficking, etc.) for a long time. As a young mother and mother of young children, I didn't feel emotionally stable enough to read about these issues without it affecting the kind of peaceful mother I wanted to be. As that time of life wraps up, I'm finding that I can better face some of these horrific things. I think it's very important to keep the knowledge of this history alive. Both to give remembrance to those who suffered it and to arm ourselves with understanding as to how we can keep it from happening again.
These stories were so hard to read and imagine. I have shied away from reading hard things like this concerning cultural atrocities (holocaust, slavery days, child trafficking, etc.) for a long time. As a young mother and mother of young children, I didn't feel emotionally stable enough to read about these issues without it affecting the kind of peaceful mother I wanted to be. As that time of life wraps up, I'm finding that I can better face some of these horrific things. I think it's very important to keep the knowledge of this history alive. Both to give remembrance to those who suffered it and to arm ourselves with understanding as to how we can keep it from happening again.
rileyary's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5