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papagenothehedgehog's review against another edition
4.0
As a raw document this is exceptional. It's clearly not a finished work, but it is fascinating to read as a snapshot of a Black person who was in the penal system of pre-Civil War America.
rtwilliams16's review against another edition
4.0
*I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.*
Austin Reed's The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict is a well written prison memoir. It was written around 1858 however it was discovered about 8 years ago in an estate sale. Researchers verified Reed's story and found that he was a prisoner in the 1800's in New York, making this the earliest known African-American prison memoir.
Reed tells his life and adventures as if it were a novel. Many have compared it to Charles Dickens writing. I found the biblical imagery used throughout very interesting. The characters of people that he met along the way are also fascinating. The sad part about reading his memoir is that I kept thinking about the similarities to today's problem of mass incarceration. This quote by Reed struck me:
"it makes my heart ache every time I see so many young men a rushing within the walls of a gloomy prison. where in the course of time he will become the harden inmate of a gloomy prison"
And this quote by Horace Cook to Reed:
"Within these walls are some of the smartest and intellectual young men that are in this country, young men endowed with a good education and a good reason, and who might have done a good deal of good and might been bright and shining ornaments in the world and angels in heaven-but instead of that they are spending the best of their days in a dark and a gloomy prison".
I highly recommend that you read this book especially the research in the introduction and the endnotes. The records included in the Appendix were also fascinating especially the two letters that the researchers found from Reed to the House of Refugee.
Austin Reed's The Life and the Adventures of a Haunted Convict is a well written prison memoir. It was written around 1858 however it was discovered about 8 years ago in an estate sale. Researchers verified Reed's story and found that he was a prisoner in the 1800's in New York, making this the earliest known African-American prison memoir.
Reed tells his life and adventures as if it were a novel. Many have compared it to Charles Dickens writing. I found the biblical imagery used throughout very interesting. The characters of people that he met along the way are also fascinating. The sad part about reading his memoir is that I kept thinking about the similarities to today's problem of mass incarceration. This quote by Reed struck me:
"it makes my heart ache every time I see so many young men a rushing within the walls of a gloomy prison. where in the course of time he will become the harden inmate of a gloomy prison"
And this quote by Horace Cook to Reed:
"Within these walls are some of the smartest and intellectual young men that are in this country, young men endowed with a good education and a good reason, and who might have done a good deal of good and might been bright and shining ornaments in the world and angels in heaven-but instead of that they are spending the best of their days in a dark and a gloomy prison".
I highly recommend that you read this book especially the research in the introduction and the endnotes. The records included in the Appendix were also fascinating especially the two letters that the researchers found from Reed to the House of Refugee.
withtheclassics's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a fascinating and honest glimpse into the life of a black man caught in a prison cycle - in the mid 1900s. It provide an important portrayal of the prison system and of the experiences of a northern black man during a time when we tend to focus on slave experiences (rightly). It also portrays other "lesser" groups like the Irish and women in nuanced and complex ways that aren't often seen in other books of this period. Also, Austin Reed is just an interesting person to read about. His writing is very unique, and often even poetic in its own way.
4 stars, not 5, because this is a recently-published unedited manuscript. Don't expect a completely clear or accurate narrative, and it sort of fizzles at the end. However, these aspects of the book do not at all detract from my enjoyment of it, or make it any less important.
The introduction and appendices written by editor Caleb Smith were interesting and helped me understand the book's importance. I especially appreciated the historical timeline of Reed's life.
Honestly, I think this is one of those books that everyone *should* read, alongside contemporary slave narratives like those of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, as revealing an important part of America's past. Its themes are still relevant today.
4 stars, not 5, because this is a recently-published unedited manuscript. Don't expect a completely clear or accurate narrative, and it sort of fizzles at the end. However, these aspects of the book do not at all detract from my enjoyment of it, or make it any less important.
The introduction and appendices written by editor Caleb Smith were interesting and helped me understand the book's importance. I especially appreciated the historical timeline of Reed's life.
Honestly, I think this is one of those books that everyone *should* read, alongside contemporary slave narratives like those of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs, as revealing an important part of America's past. Its themes are still relevant today.
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