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A review by professorbadger
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Somehow (undoubtedly partly based on the title) I thought this book was historical fiction set in Washington DC. When instead it turned out to be about slavery, and on a particularly brutal plantation at that, I thought “ugh, I do NOT want to read this!” I set several markers along the lines of “give it 10%, and then you can feel like you gave it a shot before you drop it.” But the funny thing is, the book was so beautiful that I couldn’t quit.
This book needs all the trigger warnings. I don’t trust myself to catch them all in the drop-down lists below. But it’s also lyrical and emotionally insightful and has enough action to keep the plot moving.
Very rarely, as I’m reading a novel I will get a feeling that it rises above “normal novel” and becomes “art.” This was one of those rare books. It’s partly for the sheer beauty of some of the language — I copied down a few passages that I found so poetic and insightful that I wanted to keep them for later re-reading. But it also has a lot to say on identity, on family, on race, on coping with unbearable circumstances, and so much more. As in life, no one is purely good or purely bad — even the few pure villains are given a small bit of depth and humanity — and there is so much to think about in terms of narrative themes and characterization. Meanwhile, though, it was also just a good story, even for lowbrow types like me who enjoy a novel without stopping to think deep thoughts about theme and metaphor and whatnot. Highly recommended!
This book needs all the trigger warnings. I don’t trust myself to catch them all in the drop-down lists below. But it’s also lyrical and emotionally insightful and has enough action to keep the plot moving.
Very rarely, as I’m reading a novel I will get a feeling that it rises above “normal novel” and becomes “art.” This was one of those rare books. It’s partly for the sheer beauty of some of the language — I copied down a few passages that I found so poetic and insightful that I wanted to keep them for later re-reading. But it also has a lot to say on identity, on family, on race, on coping with unbearable circumstances, and so much more. As in life, no one is purely good or purely bad — even the few pure villains are given a small bit of depth and humanity — and there is so much to think about in terms of narrative themes and characterization. Meanwhile, though, it was also just a good story, even for lowbrow types like me who enjoy a novel without stopping to think deep thoughts about theme and metaphor and whatnot. Highly recommended!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Suicide