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This is the story of a Brazilian slave trader who establishes himself in Ouidah, a slave outpost on the shores of the kingdom of Dahomey and who is bestowed the title of "Viceroy" for his monopoly in the slave trade (a trade that long continuted after Britain passed the Abolition Act in the late 19th century).
Although the book started a bit too slow for me with a tribal ceremony of the protagonist's several dozen white and mulatto descendants, Chatwin manages to weave an intersting tale of this historical character. Although this is a work of fiction (based on a real person), this fantastic tale that includes palaces decorated with skull mosaics, a mad king who spills the guts of his pregnant wife to find out the sex of the baby and a white slave trader that despite all the wealth he accumulates cannot prevent his daughters from entering the prostitute trade due to destitution, seems well researched and thrilling. ”
bookchica wrote this review Sunday, December 2 2007.
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