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10 Must-Read Novels about American Slavery

10 Must-Read Novels about American Slavery

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Real-life narratives of slavery in American history are a reminder that slavery is still in practice today, in and around Nigeria and elsewhere. Many authors have distilled stories told by African-American slaves into historical fiction. Here are 10 authors and their novels, all worth reading for their connection to a painful chapter in American history.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org, goodreads.com, nytimes.com

amazon.com
amazon.com

“The Known World,” Edward P. Jones

This 2004 winner of the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction stormed onto the literary scene with unprecedented power. Depicting a lesser-known side of the antebellum south –black slave ownership — it was lauded for exposing little-discussed aspects of slavery that challenged perceptions of history. The book was provocative, especially when Jones claimed he did little research on the topic.

en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org

“Nightjohn,” Gary Paulson

A young adult-genre book published in 1993, it holds all the power of adult themes of dread, secrecy, and life-threatening relationships. Sarny is a young slave girl living on a plantation in the 1850s. She meets John, a recaptured escapee. John is a reading teacher, and he teaches Sarny what he can. The punishment if caught? Death by dismemberment. The book got its name, “Nightjohn,” because he teaches her only at night. It was made into a TV movie.

pioneersread.wordpress.com
pioneersread.wordpress.com

“Kindred,” Octavia E. Butler

An American science fiction writer, Octavia Butler used this genre to tell stories that reflect racial, sexual, and political situations throughout world history. “Kindred” is sci-fi at its most relevant, although Butler describes it as “a grim fantasy” because it lacks the technicalities of space travel. Dana is an African American who time travels six different times from 1979 Los Angeles to early-1800s Maryland. There she meets Rufus, the distressed young son of a white slave owner who seeks, throughout his transition from youth to adulthood, Dana’s solace. She must assume the role of a slave on the plantation.

audiobooks.com
audiobooks.com

“The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” Ernest J. Gaines

This historical novel has earned a place in the literary canon. Through fictitious recording sessions, Miss Jane Pittman — the protagonist — takes us through 110 years of her life from childhood slavery to the Civil Rights era and Vietnam War. As a slave on a Louisiana plantation, she testifies to her transition from being a free woman after abolition to the harsh similarities of working on a sharecropping plantation. “It was slavery again, all right,” she said. A hard-won blend of fiction and non-fiction about the unending quest for freedom, it was made into a successful TV movie starring Cicely Tyson.

klassikfanda.blogspot.com
klassikfanda.blogspot.com

“Beloved,” Toni Morrison

In 2006, the editor of the New York Times Book Review asked more than 100 prominent authors, critics, and literary figures what they considered the greatest novel of the previous 25 years. Overwhelmingly, they voted for Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel, “Beloved.” This book is so haunting it must be read many times over in any reader’s life. At its heart, it’s a ghost story about the evil spirits of slavery that never leave the protagonist, Sethe. It’s also one of the most life-affirming novels ever written. Please read!

kentakepage.com
kentakepage.com

“Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” Alex Haley

Here is another historical novel based on real events that holds a candle to “Beloved.” Published in 1976, it spent 22 weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. It follows the unforgettable main character, Kunta Kinte, from his kidnapping in The Gambia to his horrifying transatlantic sea voyage and enslavement on a Virginia plantation, where his courage makes an indelible impression on fellow slaves and his masters. Author Alex Haley chronicles the descendants of Kunta Kinte all the way to the 70s, claiming to be related to them. Although Haley was accused of plagiarism by two authors and of historical inaccuracies by others, his novel was turned into a massively successful TV miniseries in 1977.

lib.eumich.edu
lib.eumich.edu

“Absalom, Absalom!” William Faulkner

Here is another controversial figure who writes seamlessly about race relations in the South during the 1800s. Though all Faulkner’s novels are crucial to any lover of American literature, “Absalom, Absalom!” is considered by many to be his magnum opus. While the narrative is complicated and weaving, it’s basically about Thomas Sutpen, a poor man who marries into a rich family, bringing about their demise with his craving for power and wealth. Many see it as a criticism of Southern arrogance and aristocracy during slavery.  There is a powerful moment in the book when a slave tells Sutpen he must deliver a message around the house to the back door. This concretes the main character’s self-loathing, and the superiority that Sutpen is determined to have over others.

goodreads.com
goodreads.com

“The Good Lord Bird,” James McBride

The 2013 winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, “The Good Lord Bird” by James McBride imagines the memoirs of a slave named Henry Shackleford, who encounters abolitionist John Brown one night in a tavern. The two go on adventures together which many critics likened to Huckleberry Finn-esque for their comedic aspects. We meet Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass along the way, and we’re also front-row for the raid on Harper’s Ferry. Many critics dismissed it, many loved it. Decide for yourself.

fromthevaultradio.org
fromthevaultradio.org

“The Confessions of Nat Turner,” William Styron

Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and widely considered one of the great reads of the century (although not without controversy), “The Confessions of Nat Turner” is based on the real-life documents of the historical figure’s confession. It explores motives for his slave uprising and imagines many elements of Turner’s life around them. While the book is considered inaccurate on many levels, it’s thought Styron sincerely meant for it to be a definitive work of fiction surrounding a historical event in American history. Many spoke out against the liberties Styron took. Worth reading as a follow-up is “William Styron’s Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond.” This is the essays by 10 black intellectuals criticizing the book.

barnesandnoble.com
barnesandnoble.com

“Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp,” Harriet Beecher Stowe

Many argue Stowe’s anti-slavery stance in her novels — including “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”– is warped by her actual views of blacks as passive martyrs. However there’s no doubt Stowe made an impact during her career, and centuries later she is still widely read. Her follow-up to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was a bestseller about the Great Dismal Swamp Maroons — slaves who escaped and formed their own colony in the swamps of Virginia and North Carolina. It’s worth reading to witness the types of abolitionist literature that many historians believe incited subsequent movements — even the Civil War.