Book Review: Someone Knows My Name

Image courtesy of kirkland town library

 

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

If you did not already know, I love historical fiction.  Love it.

I picked up this book a while ago and could not put it down.

In this new land, I was an African. In this new land, I had a different name, given by someone who did not even know me. A new name for the second life of a girl who survived the great river crossing.”

The first chapter begins with Aminata Diallo telling her story as an elderly woman in London where she is assisting the abolitionists in their quest to end slavery. The rest of the book focuses on Aminata’s kidnapping from Africa where she is forced into slavery in the South.  And it so it goes back and forth with Aminata reliving the story through her memories.

Lawrence Hill has a gift for storytelling because every time I picked up the book I really thought I transported back into the 1700′s. A couple times, I looked up from the book, surprised that I was on a subway car surrounded by strangers.

“If only I had had Georgia’s birthing oil, it wouldn’t have hurt so much. But there was no oil, and the pain was terrible as he plunged deep inside my body where nobody belonged but me…His breath quickened, he gave out a wild squeal and he was finished. When he slid out of me, I felt like everything inside of me was draining out.”

I have read many historical fiction books on slavery and Someone Knows My Name  left nothing to the imagination. From Aminata getting her period while journeying through Africa to being raped by a “man of God”, the author spared no emotional punches.

I loved every minute of it.

Someone Knows My Name is an emotional rollercoaster through the horrors of our own history. While many portions of the story are fabricated, just as many parts are true. An actual Book of Negroes exists that recorded all of the slaves that served under the British during the American Revolutionary War and traveled to various British colonies in an effort to be free.

Read the book for the history or just for the great story. You will not regret it.

Additional suggested reading: Lalita Tademy’s Cane River.

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Lets talk about the big “C”

image courtesty of soc.ucsb.edu

 

This morning I woke up to news (via Twitter) that Angelina Jolie had undergone preventive double mastectomies. As someone who works with the breast cancer and lymphedema population, I was instantly intrigued. However, I was also interested for reasons that are more personal. Continue reading

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Funerals and Legacies

I hate funerals. The thought of the end of life depresses me, as I guess it should. It makes me feel helpless, the thought that one day I may die. Or my loved ones. I attended a funeral a few Saturdays ago for a family member and as I heard the wails of the widow, it really made me think about the fragility of life.
The pastor commented that how after the funeral the widow would be alone and in that moment, it pissed me off. Why would he say that on the day of her husband’s funeral? Why would he reiterate what was already going through her mind since the death of her life partner? It was like pouring salt in an open wound. Continue reading

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Book Review: Little Bee

Image courtesy of chriscleave.com

One of my fellow book loving friends recently mailed me a book and she warned me it was a “depressing” read.

She was right.

New York Times Bestseller Little Bee by Chris Cleave is a story about a young refugee who forms an unlikely and unconventional relationship with an older woman after meeting one day on a beach in Nigeria. Throughout the book, Little Bee’s faith is challenged however; she remains resilient to the very end. Continue reading

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We started from the bottom, now we here

Sorry about the title, I could not resist.

Hubby and I just celebrated three years of marriage last week and I am still scratching my head in shock. I cannot believe it has been three years already. I wake up every day grateful to God that my best friend is snoring beside me. Continue reading

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Book Review: White Teeth by Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith’s first novel White Teeth is brilliant and makes me want to burn everything I have ever written. This is the first time I’ve read her work and I am disappointed I did not discover her sooner. To say that she is an awesome writer is an understatement; Zadie Smith is a masterful storyteller. From the very first page, she pulls you in:
Continue reading

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Dead End

I did not even hear their voices anymore. All I heard was the steady drone of white noise, passing behind me like California smog. I knew it was there, I just stopped caring. I stared at the computer screen willing the tiny numbers to fast forward or freeze so I could leave or at the very least read more of my book from lunch.
The planets aligned in such a way that caused them to rally against me at every conceivable turn. The numbers switched to 1:00 and I knew that the steady stream of patients would bring in more white noise. Continue reading

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Saturday morning

I wake up to the smell of Folgers coffee wafting in my room like a secret lover anxious for quality time. I sniff the air and stretch my arms overhead, the aroma providing my body with a much-needed wake up call. Since she received her brand new coffee maker, my mother makes a pot on most mornings but it’s most appreciated on Saturdays when I do not have to rush to work.
I roll out of the bed, shove my feet in my favorite worn purple slippers, and trudge into the kitchen where the strong smell of freshly brewed coffee along with the lively sounds of Radio Soleil is waiting for me.
“Good morning Brendy!” My mom says in a singsong voice that envelopes me like a hug.
“Good morning Mudzer.” I kiss her on the cheek, I have a million names for her but “Mudzer” is our favorite. Continue reading

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Ten ridiculous things I really really want to do

Yea, I'd do this in my video

  1. Make a music video- I have always wanted to make one reminiscent of the old ones where people stared off into space and danced in front of green screens. Not the rump shaking ones of today.
  2. On that note, record one track. I just want the experience of being in a studio.
  3. In addition, go to karaoke; perform a completely rehearsed song with my backup dancers.
  4. Continue reading

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I’m sensitive about my ‘ish and other thoughts on writing

Sorry for the long absence but I’ve been sick with the flu…and other things. I just haven’t had the desire to write anything and I’ve been re-evaluating the whole blog. After I went to the Haitian Women Writers Celebration, I felt renewed initally and then I got sick. I started the blog as a kind of digital diary for my journey towards being a published author and I’ve been stuck in tunnel vision. All I kept seeing was New York Times Bestseller, only I wasn’t even working on my own stuff! And I realized that I could also look towards other avenues for publication. For instance, I used to write short stories and I kind of strayed from that in my quest to be this blogger. But there are all kinds of blogs and I do not have to wrack my mind to come up with brilliant blog posts that no one really cares about just to have content. I’m going to showcase more of my work here but be patient with me. I’m not sure what it will look like but it doesn’t matter as long as I am writing. On that note, here is something I wrote out of frustration before I was sidelined by the stupid flu. 

 

One of my favorite quotes on writing is from Junot Diaz (read review of his latest book), “a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any signs of promise, you keep writing anyway.” Continue reading

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