Not entirely sure if this post qualifies for a ’round-up’ as I read only two books in October. I was travelling half-way across the world to India, busy visiting family and friends, and was jet-lagged for half that time – I could only squeeze in very limited reading.
Washington Black was shortlisted for Man Booker Prize in 2018
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
This one has made all major award circuits this year and it’s not hard to see why. Spanning several years and continent, the novel follows the life of Washington Black (Wash) as he transitions from slavery to a Freeman.
From his earliest living memory, Wash has been a slave on a sugar plantation in Barbados. His closest companion, an older slave Big Kit, who for reasons unknown is fiercely protective of him. Like many slave children born into such plantations, Wash witnesses unspeakable cruelty. He understands that as a slave, life is fickle and unpredictable, and that kindness not meant for the likes of him.
Wash’s life takes on a different trajectory when he catches the eye of Christopher Wilde, the brother of the plantation owner. Wilde thinks Wash is the perfect size for his Cloud Cutter experiment. It’s under the service of Wilde, he learns of a world outside the plantation through science and books. Wash first has the consciousness of freedom and realization of what it could possibly mean. Whether it can be truly his, is something he does not consider. An unfortunate incident, forces Wash and Titch to flee together from Barbados to North America; a journey that will take Wash to freedom.
At the heart of the story is his relationship with Titch, his reluctant master, who for purely self-serving purposes pushes Wash into the free world giving him opportunities but also alienating him from his roots. Titch has unknowingly become the father that Wash never had, and gains is unconditional love and loyalty.
Make no mistake, Titch is not a hero. His kindness is often selfish or righteous and whether he sees Wash as cause or a person is hard to tell. Not just for us, but for Wash himself, who is searching for this meaning till the end of book. Edugyan consciously explores the meaning of Titch’s role in Wash’s life – the white savior, the mentor, the friend, the father.
The novel is brilliantly plotted and written. Words don’t jump of the page, but instead flow – there is a lyrical quality sometimes that keeps you hooked. And it has made me want to read more books by Edugyan
Washington Black is about slavery and race but it’s also much more – it’s about science and discovery, about reason, about the meaning of family, about bonds between men and most importantly, it’s about understanding the meaning of freedom.
84, Charing Cross Road
When I started blogging years ago and used to follow several book blogs 84, Charing Cross Road popped up in many places and was a favorite of book lovers. 84, Charing Cross Road is a collection of twenty years of correspondence between the American writer Helene Hanff and a British book buyer, Frank Doel. This collection of letters and musings was also the inspiration behind the movie by the same name, starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.
Hanff, a New York based writer, had a very specific and might I say, obscure taste in literature. Her search for titles not often found in books and libraries, led her to Marks & Co, a bookseller on Charing Cross Road in London. And so, began her correspondence with their chief buyer who worked tirelessly over the years to fulfill her request. The letters start in the late 1940s, when UK is still reeling from the war. Hanff cheery and unconventional letters bring happiness to the staff at Marks & CO. When Hanff learns of limited rations in the UK, she makes it a habit of sending Christmas and Easter gifts across the Atlantic, much to the gratitude and delight of the everyone. She not only forms a bond with the people at office, but their families and even their neighbors.
The second half of this book is actually ‘Duchess of Bloomsbury” which is collation of journal entries from Hanff as she finally makes her passage to London. Doel has passed away but her connections stay strong. Her trip, sponsored by her publishers, finally gives her the opportunity to see the England of her books and she loves almost every minute of it.
I recommend this to anyone who loves reading and is an Anglophile ?
Plans for November reading ?
Also, for more book reviews go here.
