Helpful Score: 4
Absolutely moving novel. This is the second unabridged replication of the first 1853 publishing. I hated that Solomon was a slave,but his words are so moving and this is such a haunting read. He was a citizen of New York, kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and rescued in 1853 from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana. Excellent history. Very few personal accounts of American slavery were written by slaves with a similar history. Published first in 1853 this book found a ready audience almost immediately.
Helpful Score: 4
This is the extremely engaging autobiography of a remarkable person who overcame crushing adversity to achieve significant success in life. Written in the picturesque prose style of the nineteenth centry, it has an unmistakable air of authenticity and gives us a fascinating window into certain aspects of slavery mimnus the polemic sometimes associated with similar works.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a fascinating book written by a free man of color from New York who in 1841 was kidnapped in the south and sold into slavery. He was a slave for 12 years before being rescued, and his insight into the institution of slavery is a story not to be missed.
Helpful Score: 1
The true story of a free black man, kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841 and his subsequent years of bondage, as reported by the slave himself. This book recreates the daily expectations which were routine for a slave in Louisanna, along with explaining their work in the cotton and sugar cane fields. You follow Solomon Northup through his years of bondage, his trial and his liberation.
I enjoyed reading this book. I saw the movie which was really intense and very emotional. I wanted to read the book which was less intense but still emotional. Solomon Northrup was a free black man who was tricked by some evil men who ended up kidnapping him and selling him into slavery. He spent twelve agonizing years under several different masters and the lash until he was at last freed. Solomon Northrup tells you his story as he remembers it in the twelve years that he was a slave.
The extraordinary true story of Solomon Northup, a free African-American living in New York in 1841, who was kidnapped, sold into slavery, and subjected to unimaginable degradation and abuse until his rescue 12 years later.
This moving and utterly brutal book is a harrowing account of his life in the sugar and cotton plantations of Louisiana, subject to varying degrees of savagery and abuse by a series of owners. Against all odds, Northup eventually manages to get word to his family and the ensuing rescue from the drunken and sadistic Mr Epps and subsequent legal cases are no less shocking than the rest of the tale.
Northups meticulous first-hand recordings of slave life, written in conjunction with a white lawyer called David Wilson, provide a true-life testament to tremendous courage and resolve in the face of unspeakable injustice.
I cant say enough good stuff about this book, it was so good I could hardly stand to set it down! Solomon Northrup should be required reading for everyone everywhere! What thoroughly amazed me is as to how he went through hell and yet still looked at ALL fellow beings as people. He wasnt happy being made a slave but he made the best of it, survived and got his freedom back through friendship and didnt seem to harbor hateful relations for what the white people did to him! Amazing that this book can mean so much for people today! Only thing I didnt care for was all the reading guide crap put at the end of almost all the chapters should have been put in the back as discussion guide for reading groups! There are NOT enough stars in the sky to rate the wonderful story this book has to tell!
This moving and utterly brutal book is a harrowing account of his life in the sugar and cotton plantations of Louisiana, subject to varying degrees of savagery and abuse by a series of owners. Against all odds, Northup eventually manages to get word to his family and the ensuing rescue from the drunken and sadistic Mr Epps and subsequent legal cases are no less shocking than the rest of the tale.
Northups meticulous first-hand recordings of slave life, written in conjunction with a white lawyer called David Wilson, provide a true-life testament to tremendous courage and resolve in the face of unspeakable injustice.
I cant say enough good stuff about this book, it was so good I could hardly stand to set it down! Solomon Northrup should be required reading for everyone everywhere! What thoroughly amazed me is as to how he went through hell and yet still looked at ALL fellow beings as people. He wasnt happy being made a slave but he made the best of it, survived and got his freedom back through friendship and didnt seem to harbor hateful relations for what the white people did to him! Amazing that this book can mean so much for people today! Only thing I didnt care for was all the reading guide crap put at the end of almost all the chapters should have been put in the back as discussion guide for reading groups! There are NOT enough stars in the sky to rate the wonderful story this book has to tell!
This is an extremely powerful and heart-wrenching book. If you're familiar with the movie, you know the story already. The book just has more to it, such as details of the workings of various plantation elements, how holidays were celebrated in slavery, and lots more really interesting stuff. His story is hugely impactful, and the details he gives are plentiful. It can be very disturbing at times, as it does contain a lot of violent scenes in depictions of how slaves were treated, but it is well worth reading, even if you have seen the movie already.
I didn't make it far in this book, the format is terrible and even though the story might be interesting it is hard to follow because it meanders off in all directions and makes the story confused
If this would've been written more in the format of a fiction instead of a documentary it might've been better but I just found it confusing with the other characters thrown in and their stories and so on and so on, just took away from what the main story was supposed to be
I'd say get the movie
If this would've been written more in the format of a fiction instead of a documentary it might've been better but I just found it confusing with the other characters thrown in and their stories and so on and so on, just took away from what the main story was supposed to be
I'd say get the movie
Enlightening recounting of Solomon Northup's experience as he was tricked and sold into slavery, being a free man of the state of New York. He spent twelve years in bondage serving several masters. Through all of his painful ordeals and being separated from his wife and children, a small flicker of hope and his faith kept him going until one day he meets someone he feels he can trust with his story and who will assist in getting him home!
amazing story
Twelve Years a Slave is the narrative of Solomon Northup, a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery. The book is a documentary account of slavery in that particular place at that particular time. The non-emotional descriptions present the events and leave the reader to feel the emotion in the book and the horror of the treatment the slaves received. This detachment makes the book less dramatic perhaps, but for me, adds to the power of the words and the events described.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/04/twelve-years-slave.html
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/04/twelve-years-slave.html
