Washington Black

a novel

333 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2018

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (24 reviews)

George Washington Black, or "Wash," an eleven-year-old field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is terrified to be chosen by his master's brother as his manservant. To his surprise, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist. Soon Wash is initiated into a world where a flying machine can carry a man across the sky, where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning--and where two people, separated by an impossible divide, can begin to see each other as human. But when a man is killed and a bounty is placed on Wash's head, Christopher and Wash must abandon everything. What follows is their flight along the eastern coast of America, and, finally, to a remote outpost in the Arctic. What brings Christopher and Wash together will tear them apart, propelling Wash even further across the globe in …

4 editions

Review of 'Washington Black' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This is a very thought provoking and interesting novel. Without spilling the beans, it is not a traditional 'when bad things happen to good people' story. This tale wisely recognizes that neither good nor evil exist without their counter-part; it, also, strongly suggests my favorite HL Mencken quote: "For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong."

Review of 'Washington Black' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. Maybe it is more of a 3.5. The writing was at times really beautiful. I appreciated how the everyday, horrific violence of slavery was shown without actually becoming violence porn. I wanted to know what would happen. But I almost put it down a few times because of where I felt it was going and because it is so male focused. This book is like playing with the format of a Dickens novel, but maybe not enough for where I am at today.

Review of 'Washington Black' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I'm not a big follower of the Man Booker Prize but a handful of this year's longlist titles piqued my interest, and at the top of the pile was one adorned with an airship. It sounded like an adventure story, in the Booker! Needless to say I had to read it.

The story follows young George Washington Black, Wash for short, a slave born on a sugar plantation on Barbados. The first few chapters have a horrific familiarity to many slave stories, but the difference here, Wash is allowed to have an adventure. Esi Edugyan has argued this is a post-slavery story because of that, but you are reminded that in reality, life wouldn't have been so good for Wash.

But Wash is selected by his master's brother to help him with his experiments, specifically his airship. The relationship between Titch and Wash is awkward and highlights the complexities of …

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Subjects

  • Fiction
  • Freedom
  • Men
  • Ficiton
  • Slavery