Monday, February 27, 2012

The Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill



The Book of Negros by Lawrence Hill is the literary equivalent of your parents keeping an important secret from you because they don't want you to worry. And you're 35.


Oh man. This is a bit of a hard one. Everyone I've talked to and all the press surrounding this book have all been very complimentary of The Book of Negros, and I completely understand why. This is a story that historically and morally must be told. But when I read it, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wasn't getting the full brunt of the subject and that I was being protected from something unseen, something horrible. Aminata's story is undeniably full of suffering; however, a lot of the suffering is relegated to a third party. We see scores of nameless slaves being marched off to their destiny and we hear stories of lynchings, rapes and mob riots. Are we ever burdened with the full weight of Aminata's surroundings? Is it better that we are not?

Sometimes I feel that fictional storytelling has the ability to do a huge disservice to difficult subjects. A story must have a main character that works through the entirety of the story, that survives from, at least, the first page to the last. In other words, the main character must live to tell the story. It is far too pessimistic (and also untrue) to assume that the story of slavery is only about the non-survivors, but I feel the story conveniently glossed over the legions of people who are not as fortunate as Aminata. Aren't these people, unfortunately, the real main characters of this story? The hard edges of Aminata's life somehow seem to be smoothed away by the simplicity of the narrative, a choice that means the novel is accessible to a larger audience but one that may oversimplify the urgency of her story within a larger context.

After thinking about this for a while I've come to the conclusion that the parts of this novel that irk me are, in fact, my own problem. My preference is for books that present a very intricate and very complicated portrait of the main character. In certain ways, The Book of Negros is so heavy with subject matter, it makes perfect sense for the novel to be intensely readable and pull the reader into the story. If made too complicated, it could very well turn off readers and dissuade them from engaging with this subject. The perfect showcase for this novel would be in a Grade 10 English classroom. It deserves to be an integral part of Canada's national consciousness and it is important for kids to have a gateway into difficult subjects with books that both address difficult issues and present them in a digestible way.

Just keep in mind that as you read The Book of Negros, it will have your heart safely kept in check.

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