Review: WASHINGTON BLACK, by Esi Edugyan

WASHINGTON BLACK, by Esi Edugyan

Audiobook

HarperAudio - 2018

Narrated by Dion Graham

My Rating (out of 5)

⭐⭐⭐

Okay, so unpopular opinion time. I didn't love it. It was good, but for myself - it just didn't live up to all the hype. Shortlisted for both the Man Booker and The Giller prizes (among others), this book is getting lots of attention, and I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise.

 I had always said that I "don't read Historical Fiction", but after straying into the genre to read books like the wildly popular CanLit title THE HOME FOR UNWANTED GIRLS,  by Joanna Goodman, and the wildly under-popular WHAT BLOOMS FROM DUST, by James Markert and loving them both (I gave them each 5 stars), I thought maybe it was time to consider that perhaps my reading tastes are evolving. Certainly I am more inclined to give some consideration to Historical Fiction titles now, but this book reminded me of why I always shied away from the genre in the past, and why I should be careful when choosing from this genre that is not my norm. 

For me the book started out strong, flattened in the middle, and fizzled a bit at the end.  

The story starts with our protagonist Washington Black as a youth who is a slave on a plantation in Barbados. When the master dies, his two sons arrive on the plantation. His eldest son Erasmus Wilde is the new, harsher master and life for the slaves becomes even more cruel. Washington is taken under wing by Erasmus' younger, abolitionist brother, Christopher "Titch" Wilde under the pretext of using him as an assistant. 

When Erasmus and Titch's cousin comes to visit and dies suddenly on the plantation with only Washington as witness, Titch and Washington escape together, but eventually Washington is abandoned by Titch and he is left on his own to make his way. In time slavery is abolished, and Washington ultimately tracks down Titch and confronts him while also confronting his own past in the process.

Perhaps I missed some things, but there seemed to be loose ends that just were not resolved sufficiently and near the end there were elements that did not "fit" with the overall story (Those who read it will know what I mean regardless of whether they agree or disagree with my opinion).

Edugyan clearly has a gift. My initial impression was one of well written prose and strong characters, but when I look back at the story as a whole, I cannot say I loved it.

The narration by Dion Graham was very good, with a pleasant voice and excellent range of character and emotion. 

Happy Reading,

Christine