Stephen
A great, if somewhat depressing, read, I found this book entertaining in the same way that someone would find a book on war entertaining, getting invested in the small victories and key locations that played a part in the history of the war of the territories in wrestling, even as I knew how the story ends.
This is the second novel I've read recounting the experience of black slaves in America—the first of which being Alex Haley's phenomenal Roots—and the first that was written in a first-person perspective. And, like the aforementioned Roots, this novel deeply moved me. I believe that it's extremely important to capture the experience of the enslaved African-American woman in America specifically, as they've arguably endured the most atrocities as anyone in this country. In spite of this being a recounting of Harriet Jacobs's life, I often found myself wishing dearly for her escape, and later her happiness once free from the chains of slavery.