The Book of Negroes – Lawrence Hill
Hello hello lovely readers
I hope this email finds you all well. My apologies for the delay and not getting this sent out sooner. The girls gone wild Miami edition bachelorette weekend, a work/Alaska explosion and now a serious count down for the wedding all were contributing factors. Anyhow, here it is!
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
Our Book of Negroes meeting and discussion, hosted by Sam was fantastic. Excellent turnout, riveting discussion and delicious fare (AND passover friendly). A big thank you to Sam for being such a fantastic host. Everyone felt right at home.
The discussion bounced around–which is the sign of a good read. Thumbs up all around to start–which is great. Everyone was very aware how far the world has come in a relatively short period of time. Within the span of 200 years, the West has moved from slavery to a black president.
We all agreed that Meena was indeed a very memorable protagonist. Sarah Locke and myself found some of the novel to be a bit sentimental (especially compared to other slave narratives) but concurred that it was thought provoking and a page turner. An interesting point of discussion is the fact that in the US, the book has been publiched under a different title (Someone knows my Name) and the implications of that title change. Also, the novel served as a reminder that Canada was as complicit in its behaviour toward blacks. As Canadians we often we view ourselves as the friendly True North Strong and Free, but the reality was not much better in Canada than in the US in terms of our racism and bigotry.
Now there has been a wee bit of confusion on the next book choices (blame me). Our next read is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird and following that read, Jannis Cooke Newman’s Mary. We will have a nice thematic 3 book trend, examining slavery, race relations and injustice in the deep South and Emancipation.
Sorry for the mix up in order.
Anyhow, How does Tuesday May 26 sound? the meeting will be at Kerry’s new house. We will send out details and instructions shortly.
Happy page turning everyone.
xox^..^xox
Happy book club updates—JoJo is having a girl! I will be married by the next meeting!
