A review by willwork4airfare
Our Nig by Harriet E. Wilson

2.0

Honestly, I don't know if I've ever been so pissed off after reading a novel. It was going so well, another compelling slave story, this one about a young girl whose mother abandons her outside a wealthy family's home and they decide to take her in as their house servant. The short novel describes her treatment in the house (which is bad) and the few family members who appreciate her (but don't do anything) and it basically goes on like this for the entire book.

Now, this is a story of the girl's entire life so it's not a spoiler to say that she dies, but die she does. After about 50 pages of reading about her life in this house and feeling bad for her and wanting her to get out and make something of herself, the author chooses instead to wrap up the story of her post-18 year old life in about 5 pages and then she just dies.

So what was the point? I have no idea. I invested the time in finding out about this little mulatto girl named Frado and feeling bad for her and wishing the people who cared about her would step up and do a little more to help her, but instead, the book just ends-- no moral learned, no nothing. It's possible that that was the point. Maybe it was supposed to piss you off with how hopeless and sad it was that nothing ever worked out in this poor kid's life, but that's not how it comes across. It comes off as the author got lazy or just doesn't know how to finish a novel.

If you like stories with disappointing endings, then you will love this. Honestly, there was nothing wrong with the plot, which is why it gets a 2 instead of a 0. It was interesting and I almost finished it in one night, but decided to drag it out, only adding to how upset I am now that the ending could do this to me.