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Discussions
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summerjoi
This was a very good book.The historical content was so detailed. I learned a lot about the slave trade. Did not know about the Nova Scotia settlement. I plan to suggest this to my book club for discussion
posted 5 years ago.
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Beverly S
You must read this! It's like Roots but from a female perspective. I thought there wasn't much more I could read about slavery but Aminata's story was very enlightening and inspiring. You won't be disappointed with this book.
posted 4 years ago.
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Kai K
I just started this book and already know it is going to be one of my favorites.
posted 4 years ago.
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mamabird5o
I can say, having just finished the book, that it remains as moving and as compelling as it does at the start. I've been in a "dry spot" with my reading, but once I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down.
posted 2 years ago.
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Lesley W
Do you feel Aminata Diallo was ever actually free? Do you feel she was better off at the end of her life in London than she would have been if she had made it home?
posted 3 years ago.
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Maggie
I don't think she was ever actually free. She was going to be sold of to the chief to be one of his many wives. I suppose it could be argued that her father, in this regard, was her first master. She seemed to be almost equally anguished by the thought of being married off, as she really favored the idea of being a single story teller woman. Hill maybe has a feminist streak in him?
posted 2 years ago.
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mamabird5o
(Spoiler) I didn't truly feel that she was free until she was reunited with family in the end, something I didn't see coming. She was comparatively free, but the sadness from all her losses could only be assuaged by the return of someone dear to her.
posted 2 years ago.
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Lesley W
Would you have read the book if they had not changed the name in the US. The Canadian version being called "The Book of Negroes"
posted 3 years ago.
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mamabird5o
I think I would have found "The Book of Negroes" to have been an intriguing title, just as the actual "Book of Negroes" in the book is both horrible and fascinating - fascinating that at one time, so many people did not find its mere existence to be a clue that something was terribly wrong with slavery.
posted 2 years ago.
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michaela v
I don't think her life was ever tryly about being freed, however the hope brought about by the thought of returning to Africa, was what kept her alive for so long. As she constantly says, there was a greater purpose for her lengthy life. On page 7 she says: "Africa is my homeland. But I have weathered enough migration for five lifetimes. Thankyou very much, but I don't care to be moved again."
I personalyl feel she acheived her 'freedom' by escaping the bondages brought about by slavery. You can be free anywhere in the world. Aminata Diallo definatly found her freedom.posted 3 years ago.
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Daena F
What do you feel the power and use of language is over the course of the novel?
posted 3 years ago.
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mamabird5o
In the sense that language is used as a barrier, Aminata overcame this barrier by mastering English and often surprising her owners at her superior skills in communication. Her education was something that could not be taken away from her, and which often opened doors for her and spared her much grief.
posted 2 years ago.
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mamabird5o
Did you find the character of Chekura to be flawed, and necessary in comparison to Aminata's strength of spirit?
posted 2 years ago.
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Melissa Martinson
I used Aminata in a job interview as one person i would like to meet, fictional or not. I beleive the character development was so amzing in this book...I was hooked and it is my number one favorite. Love the Canadian content too.
posted 1 year ago.