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Title:
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Someone Knows My Name |
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Authors:
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Hill, Lawrence |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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534 |
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Year:
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2008 |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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Aminata is twelve when she is kidnapped by slave traders from a village in Africa. Decades later, now an old woman, she recounts the story of her life. It is an epic journey encompassing three continents, plantation life, the Revolutionary War, a return to Africa and culminates with Aminata testifying in London to the Parliamentary Committee on the Slave Trade. With its historically accurate details and cast of vivid characters, this saga is a deeply moving expose of slavery and the struggle for abolition. Winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. [Big read}
Comments from Groups:Provoked comments about race situations today, also about the history of those slaves who worked for the British and went to Canada, then Sierra Leone. Auckland 223Beautifully written. A sad story but not depressing. What a resilient Heroine. Enjoyed by most of the group, including male members. Matamata 003We all enjoyed the book. Unusual, easy style of writing and good discussion questions and author commentary. Whangarei 008Most people found this story to be very informative and harrowing in parts but always hopeful. Well written and held our interest. A wonderful woman! Akaroa 001 Everyone loved the book. Best book we have read in book club. Ashburton 020
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Categories:
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Fiction, Big reads, Award winner, Culture/Ethnic/Racial, Historical, Human Rights, USA, Africa, Group favourites |
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By: AUCK 412
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2024-03-17 20:33:02 |
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A very moving book. We learnt a lot more about the slave trade and all agreed on how cruel mankind have been, and still are, to each other. Very thought-provoking. |
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By: HAMIL 022
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2024-03-13 13:07:05 |
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An excellent discussion! |
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By: CHCH 544
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2023-11-18 17:53:10 |
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Quite a few people in our group did not read the book. Various reasons but,not least, the general state of the world is not engendering interest in tough subjects. Here are feedback points in no particular order: light on insight, good writing but too fat (ie could do with losing 100 pages or more), too much serendipity, pleased to read it but wouldn't buy it for anyone. |
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By: TAUP 013
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2023-07-24 09:29:11 |
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Another thought provoking read which we all enjoyed. |
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By: MOTUE 008
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2023-05-11 10:17:32 |
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This book was enjoyed by all for how it illuminated a previously unknown history. A great discussion was prompted by the book. Although it was harrowing at times, interspersing sections from later in the protagonist's life was a comfort when she was experiencing trauma. |
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By: TAUR 061
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2023-02-27 13:47:30 |
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We were all again reminded via the voice of Aminatta that no matter one’s circumstances there is hope. She exemplifies all the traits strong, resilient women have, and as a group we celebrated her courage and intellect. |
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By: CHCH 298
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2022-08-31 11:36:23 |
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A very moving and compelling story! All enjoyed the book, even though some found the story very difficult. |
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By: STEW 001
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2022-08-05 11:22:05 |
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Everyone enjoyed this book - unusual for us to have a consistent scoring for a book. The historical background was well researched - we all learnt lots about a relatively obscure part of the history of the slave trade. Fascinating characters who it was easy to feel empathy with. |
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By: PIOPIO 001
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2021-09-28 13:27:27 |
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We all loved this book which was easy to read in spite of the size. Very informative, thought provoking, great characters and generated plenty of discussion. |
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By: TAUP 012
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2021-09-22 10:21:55 |
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We all loved this book. A great read. |
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By: AUCK 272
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2019-10-23 14:28:52 |
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What an amazing book! Everyone who read it really enjoyed it. I learnt such a lot about the slave trade that I did not know, and the War of Independence. |
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By: CHCH 009
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2019-10-23 14:27:40 |
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Surprisingly differing reactions to this book. Appreciation of the writing, and that a male could thus portray a female. A moving portrayal of disturbing history. |
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By: DUNED 012
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2019-10-23 14:24:29 |
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We all enjoyed the book - it was challenging but well-written, and we all wanted to find out what happened to Aminata. Some of us did more research on the historical aspects of things we didn't know before. |
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By: NELS 056
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2019-10-23 14:19:41 |
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We all enjoyed the writing style. A very enthralling, thought provoking novel. Generated very much discussion. |
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By: NELS 065
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2019-10-23 14:17:56 |
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We all loved this book! |
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By: AUCK 153
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2019-10-23 14:17:35 |
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We loved this book - everybody read it and enjoyed it, even though quite a long read. Lots of discussion about the history of the slave trade. A very emotional connection to what it must have been like. |
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By: NELS 027
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2019-10-23 14:14:07 |
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Excellent account of a heart wrenching situation. Some moved to tears. Prompted good discussion. Dreadful times in our world's history. Two couldn't finish the book - too upsetting. |
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