The Confessions of Frannie Langton

This is a bit of a tough one for me to rate, but ultimately solidly a 3, I think. The dark moodiness of this bookis enveloping, and I immediately wanted to keep reading to discover all of Frannie's journeys and secrets. But the pace is slow, and the ending felt a bit less revealing than I wanted (but maybe that ultimately drives home the point of hopelessness for someone who isn't a white, rich, straight man.)

Not a light read and certainly not for everyone, but it was interesting.

Dark, thoughtful, snapshot of Britain's relationship to slavery wrapped in an “onion” mystery of what really happened leading up to the double murder.

It was... interesting. I really don't know what to think about it.
What was horrible was truly horrible.
What Langdon did with Candide was horrible, the discussion about black people after that... blood curdling.
I wrote on Facebook: “When I read Fantasy and horrible things happen, I can think that it's just the author's imagination.
But when reading historical fiction, or semi-historical, or based on history, that crap is real. It happened to someone. Probably more someones than just one. That and worse.
AND THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE STILL AROUND WHO DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYTHING HORRIBLE IN THAT.”

I'm glad she used the scissors.

Now, it got painfully slow towards the end. The trial was bothersome.

I can't quite express how I feel about this novel, at the moment. I will give four words, disgusted, fetishization, complicity, and perseverance (both I and the protagonist). It was challenging to finish this book. I found myself at points, procrastinating, as not to read this book.