A review by ralowe
Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black by Harriet E. Wilson

5.0

i have a narratological fetish for foundational texts. early early literature. what happens in such documents is very close to being the first of its kind, it has nothing else to imitate, it has no community of kind. it's in dialogue with itself. this is likely the first novel written by a free slave/black person in the united states. the author is also a woman. the figure in this context is put through a melodrama of especial helplessness mean to churn and kindle the spark of compassion in white americans for the swarthy multitude "emancipated" a few years prior the publication date. i skipped skip gates' prefatory analysis because i figure i'm old enough to. this novel reads as a camp of projects to milk kindness from caucasians.