Jennifer M. (Kaydence) reviewed Come August, Come Freedom: The Bellows, the Gallows, and the Black General Gabriel on + 380 more book reviews
Summary:
Gabriel is a slave that becomes an apprentice for a blacksmith. While he is attempting to make and save money, he is unable to purchase his love. Because of this, he plots a slave rebellion which ends up with thousands of participants seeking freedom. While the slave rebellion does not end with the freedom of all, mostly because of weather, Gabriel does give life and passion to many African-Americans. As noted within the title, Gabriel's life is cut short by the gallows, but his life changed the lives of many others.
My thoughts:
While this is a tale that I believe should be told within school, I'm not sure this is the novel to do it. I enjoyed the mixture of fiction and non-fiction. The early life that Amateau makes up, does give Gabriel a bit more depth than a traditional history book. With the description of his father's determination to be liberated, it is easy to see motivation for Gabriel later in his life. I also enjoyed the mixture of letters, flyers, and documents used within the novel. While I am making the assumption that these are factual documents (which I know is a huge assumption), I found that they made the story feel more real. They were my favorite part of the book. Unfortunately, the book is really slow. While the writing is fairly simple, I feel like the target audience will have a difficult time getting through the book. I had a difficult time getting through the book because it was not strong enough to really pull me into the story. The characters, while more in depth than a traditional history book, lack the pull that I usually get from characters to bring me into their lives. The story telling is just not done well enough, which leaves the book easy to put down and boring, unfortunately.
Gabriel is a slave that becomes an apprentice for a blacksmith. While he is attempting to make and save money, he is unable to purchase his love. Because of this, he plots a slave rebellion which ends up with thousands of participants seeking freedom. While the slave rebellion does not end with the freedom of all, mostly because of weather, Gabriel does give life and passion to many African-Americans. As noted within the title, Gabriel's life is cut short by the gallows, but his life changed the lives of many others.
My thoughts:
While this is a tale that I believe should be told within school, I'm not sure this is the novel to do it. I enjoyed the mixture of fiction and non-fiction. The early life that Amateau makes up, does give Gabriel a bit more depth than a traditional history book. With the description of his father's determination to be liberated, it is easy to see motivation for Gabriel later in his life. I also enjoyed the mixture of letters, flyers, and documents used within the novel. While I am making the assumption that these are factual documents (which I know is a huge assumption), I found that they made the story feel more real. They were my favorite part of the book. Unfortunately, the book is really slow. While the writing is fairly simple, I feel like the target audience will have a difficult time getting through the book. I had a difficult time getting through the book because it was not strong enough to really pull me into the story. The characters, while more in depth than a traditional history book, lack the pull that I usually get from characters to bring me into their lives. The story telling is just not done well enough, which leaves the book easy to put down and boring, unfortunately.
