Reviews

Joseph Knight by James Robertson

berlinbibliophile's review

4.0

I really enjoyed this one. The different narratives of the different times worked well together, and the inclusion of specific places and dates, as well as newspaper excerpts at the beginning of each section, lent this novel an air of authenticity. The ambiguity about the characters for a large portion of the novel appealed to me, and the characters all seem like real, fully rounded people. Apart from those elements, the novel is excellently written, especially in its inclusion of the Scottish dialect both to establish the book's atmosphere and as a character-defining attribute. 
Altogether an excellent book.

sasmort's review

4.0

I’ve read several Robertson books and as usual this one gives real insight into Scotland in such a thoughtful way. I found it hard to get into this at first, but once I had I felt like I was being given a bit of our past back. It’s cleverly written with one of the characters being a detective and following the sort of process I imagine Robertson himself must have had to do to uncover this hidden story. If you like historical fiction- read this! If you want to think about Scotland’s past and place in the world- you won’t be disappointed

eviewilliams29's review

challenging dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

davieid's review

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

donaldleitch's review

4.0

This historical novel presents one story associated with Scotland's connection to slavery. John Wedderburn and his brothers fled to Jamaica following 1746 where they developed two successful sugar plantations. The success of these plantations was attributable to slave labour and the Wedderburn management skills. John Wedderburn eventually returned to Scotland a wealthy man, bringing with him one slave, Joseph Knight.
The author, James Robertson, convincingly tells this historical story about slavery, taking the reader back and forth over more than 55 years of time, slowly revealing pertinent aspects of the slave trade and Joseph Knight's pursuit of freedom, all within the guise of a mystery concerning Joseph Knight. Eventually, all the pieces come together. Joseph Knight, despite being the title of the book, does not make an appearance until about half way thought the novel, remaining something of an enigma throughout.
Robertson's novel is engaging and well written.

stephencampbll's review

5.0

“Nations and people are largely the stories they feed themselves. If they tell themselves stories that are lies, they will suffer the future consequences of those lies. If they tell themselves stories that face their own truths, they will free their histories for future flowerings.” – Ben Orki, Birds of Heaven