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elsaaqazi's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
I loved the message this book had to convey, more so because this was a true story. But the three stars because I didn't find this novel very captivating, nor was it a page-turner. I didn't quite like the writing style because of which this was a very slow read and this 200 pager took me months to finish.
I loved the message this book had to convey, more so because this was a true story. But the three stars because I didn't find this novel very captivating, nor was it a page-turner. I didn't quite like the writing style because of which this was a very slow read and this 200 pager took me months to finish.
duffypratt's review against another edition
4.0
This book alternates between two aspects of the tale. One part deals with Burns' apprehension in Boston, and the subsequent proceeding to extradite him to Virginia under the Fugitive Slave Act. The Fugitive Slave Act was a federal law that allowed slave owners to recapture their slaves who had successfully escaped and settled in free states.
Remember, Southerners were huge fans of State's rights, and thought that the Federal Government should not be able to interfere in their definitions of what, or whom, constituted property. But this admiration for states rights didn't extend to recognizing the right of other states to declare that people within their borders were free, and could not be considered property. For this point, the Southerners were perfectly content to rest upon the almighty authority of the Federal government to enforce their property rights in areas where other states said those rights did not exist.
Conversely, when it came to slavery, the Northerners tended to favor a Federal approach. The abolitionist movement thought the Federal Government should extend its power to simply wipe out the institution of slavery. But when the Feds instead used its authority to restore slaves to their owners, the northerners took up the mantle of state's rights and insisted that a slave within their borders was no slave an all and the Federal government should not be allowed to interfere.
This book draws out this process, and makes very clear the tensions that these laws caused in both Boston and in the South. Burns himself becomes little more than a pawn in the larger historical forces that are whirling around him. He gets taken prisoner, gets defended almost against his wishes, gets rushed through a process he little understands, and then gets shipped back to Virginia and North Carolina, before he ultimately gets purchased by his defenders and freed. His only wish is to be a free man, but he is not free as a slave, and indeed he is not free once this process starts to sweep him away.
Hamilton does a wonderful job describing the proceeding, the near riots that surround the proceeding, the fundamental unfairness of the law in question, and the motives of the various people involved, from the marshall, to the jailers, to the judge on the hearing, to the lawyers, and to Burns himself. She also does a great job of describing the extraordinary waste of resources involved in sending this one slave back to his home state so that he could be tortured.
The other aspect of the book is told through memories of Burns while in jail. This part sequentially fills in parts of his upbringing and life as a slave. I thought it was perhaps more entertaining than the legal proceedings, but less gripping. The main thing I got from these sections was that Burns life as a slave was intolerable, and at the same time, as a slave, he had it rather easy compared to other slaves. The interesting aspect of this part was the practice of raising slaves not for plantation work, but to be leased out to middle class store and restaurant owners for the term of a year or more. In one of these labor stints, his lessor negligently starts some manufacturing equipment and completely mangles Burns right hand. Since he can no longer perform his service, the lessor simply terminates the lease and returns Burns to his owner as damaged goods. No other consequence seems to follow. Pretty extraordinary stuff.
I think Hamilton did a great job presenting this material, and yet, I still have my doubts about how much kids will like it. It seems to me that this book falls more on the side of a book that a parent or a teacher would like the kids to read, and less on the side of a book that kids will recommend to each other. And that's too bad.
Remember, Southerners were huge fans of State's rights, and thought that the Federal Government should not be able to interfere in their definitions of what, or whom, constituted property. But this admiration for states rights didn't extend to recognizing the right of other states to declare that people within their borders were free, and could not be considered property. For this point, the Southerners were perfectly content to rest upon the almighty authority of the Federal government to enforce their property rights in areas where other states said those rights did not exist.
Conversely, when it came to slavery, the Northerners tended to favor a Federal approach. The abolitionist movement thought the Federal Government should extend its power to simply wipe out the institution of slavery. But when the Feds instead used its authority to restore slaves to their owners, the northerners took up the mantle of state's rights and insisted that a slave within their borders was no slave an all and the Federal government should not be allowed to interfere.
This book draws out this process, and makes very clear the tensions that these laws caused in both Boston and in the South. Burns himself becomes little more than a pawn in the larger historical forces that are whirling around him. He gets taken prisoner, gets defended almost against his wishes, gets rushed through a process he little understands, and then gets shipped back to Virginia and North Carolina, before he ultimately gets purchased by his defenders and freed. His only wish is to be a free man, but he is not free as a slave, and indeed he is not free once this process starts to sweep him away.
Hamilton does a wonderful job describing the proceeding, the near riots that surround the proceeding, the fundamental unfairness of the law in question, and the motives of the various people involved, from the marshall, to the jailers, to the judge on the hearing, to the lawyers, and to Burns himself. She also does a great job of describing the extraordinary waste of resources involved in sending this one slave back to his home state so that he could be tortured.
The other aspect of the book is told through memories of Burns while in jail. This part sequentially fills in parts of his upbringing and life as a slave. I thought it was perhaps more entertaining than the legal proceedings, but less gripping. The main thing I got from these sections was that Burns life as a slave was intolerable, and at the same time, as a slave, he had it rather easy compared to other slaves. The interesting aspect of this part was the practice of raising slaves not for plantation work, but to be leased out to middle class store and restaurant owners for the term of a year or more. In one of these labor stints, his lessor negligently starts some manufacturing equipment and completely mangles Burns right hand. Since he can no longer perform his service, the lessor simply terminates the lease and returns Burns to his owner as damaged goods. No other consequence seems to follow. Pretty extraordinary stuff.
I think Hamilton did a great job presenting this material, and yet, I still have my doubts about how much kids will like it. It seems to me that this book falls more on the side of a book that a parent or a teacher would like the kids to read, and less on the side of a book that kids will recommend to each other. And that's too bad.
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