One of the New York Times Book Review TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR Eleven-year-old George Washington Black—or Wash—a field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is initially terrified when he is chosen as the manservant of his master’s brother. To his surprise, however, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist. Soon Wash is initiated into a … 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, they must abandon everything and flee together. Over the course of their travels, what brings Wash and Christopher together will tear them apart, propelling Wash ever farther across the globe in search of his true self. Spanning the Caribbean to the frozen Far North, London to Morocco, Washington Black is a story of self-invention and betrayal, of love and redemption, and of a world destroyed and made whole again.
One of the Best Books of the Year
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I can’t say enough about this book! My favorite of 2018 and best new Author. It is so we’ll written you want to savor the words. Original plot with a lot of history. I solo loved it!
Any book surrounding slavery or the holocaust, I approach with caution. A fine story can be told, but those two particular dark wells have been dipped into so many times, it’s a challenge to find a unique angle and make the narrative fresh.
From an originality standpoint, Washington Black gets 5 stars. The story weaves through impossible terrain – Barbados, The Arctic, England, Morocco – tying in botany and strange flying machines for good measure.
I’m a fan of first person POV although Washington’s interiority and spoken language were a touch stilted – part of it was the sentence structure (how Ms. Edugyan flipped phrasing around to match the time period); part of it was the choice of words. Both held back some of the immediacy a first person POV allows for.
At the 2/3 mark, Washington goes on a quest to re-connect with the man (Titch) who saved him, in a roundabout way, from a life of slavery. For me, this journey and the subsequent denouement dragged the story a bit. The build up was in motion and then the payoff wasn’t quite there.
But these are minor notes in an otherwise wild and wonderful novel. The story steers the slavery angle away from the usual situations and surprise – a great adventure story unfolds.
Three stars might be a little low since there are parts of the book that offer powerful and emotional descriptions. But other parts seem completely unnecessary to the narrative flow.
This is the story of a young male, George Washington Black, born a slave on a plantation in Barbados. An orphan, the only family he knows is Big Kit, a female slave who takes “Wash” under her wing. Early on, this novel excels at describing the way Wash (and other enslaved people) views whites around him — his own life-and-death vulnerability, their unpredictability, and a complete lack of trust in even those who show kindness. Author Esi Edugyan wrote remarkable descriptions to illustrate how dramatically the institution of slavery affected the psychology of those who were enslaved.
Wash turns out to be both lucky AND smart. His owner’s brother, a would-be scientist nicknamed Titch, selects Wash to accompany him to an expedition, where Wash’s natural drawing skills are soon put to work illustrating all manner of living creatures. And this random selection enables the boy to escape the brutal world of field work and, instead, develop his hungry brain.
But when a sudden death occurs, Titch and Wash must take off immediately on a far-flung adventure that eventually takes Wash first to Virginia, then the Arctic and Nova Scotia and eventually to Europe and Africa. The story follows Wash’s life for about 10 years, as he learns to navigate the world as a young black man, with all the prejudices inherent in society.
Usually I don’t find male authors who create female protagonists or female authors who create male protagonists completely believable. But in this case, the author, who is female, does an admirable job writing in the voice of Wash. So, then why didn’t I like the book more?
The way the narrative unfolds became too farfetched for me. All the world traveling Wash does (and still no older than 20 years), at a period in the 19th century when travel to distant locations was uncommon and expensive, began to feel unbelievable. Where, after all, was all this travel money coming from? If, however, I think about the novel as more fable-like, illustrating the potential but untapped capability of enslaved people who only needed life to present a single opportunity, then I come away from the read more satisfied.
My other complaint concerns the ending, which I found deeply disappointing. As a reader, you spend a good portion of the book watching events build to a pivotal denouement, only to have that moment fall flat. And then the book ends with complete ambiguity.
I still recommend the story, which is interesting. And Wash is a memorable character. But if I had been the editor, I would have pushed the author to revisit a few of the plot developments and definitely the ending.
It’s a right place / right time / right weight story. Amazingly interesting.
I liked this book but thought it began to drag a bit after the igloo. Overall the story was fairly satisfying in the end
I enjoyed the development of the characters in this novel. Slavery was described through the eyes of a you g boy. The story was amazing. I was disappointed that the end left the reader hanging
What a story, with the pain of slavery and the light of escape into another world. Multi dimensional characters make the tail more believable.
Washington Black truly is a wonderful character, the kind we all love to read about, a survivor who’s smart enough to turn every situation to his advantage and honorable enough that we root for him every step of the way. While reading his adventures we gain empathy for the plight of slaves in America–a much-needed bonus in this time when we are realizing how little has changed for people of color in our white-dominated, built-on-racism nation. Highly recommended!
This is an unusual coming of age story focused on six years in the life of a slave on a Barbados sugar plantation owned by the brutal Erasmus WIlde. Wash enjoys the protection of an older mother-figure, Big Kit, who is planning to escape–through death, which she claims will free then and send them back to their true home. Fortunately for Wash, he is taken under the wing of his master’s younger brother, an abolitionist inventor of a hot air balloon he calls The Cloud-Cutter. Titch (as he asks Wash to call him) needs someone lighter than himself to launch his contraption, and he persuades Erasmus to let him borrow Wash. This relationship will have both positive and negative results for the young slave, forcing him to embark on a voyage that will be both arduous and wonderful. Along the way, he meets many unique characters, including a shady sea-captain, Titch’s explorer father, a world-renowned naturalist and his daughter, a native Arctic guide, a bounty-hunter, and more.
While this may sound like a typical historical novel, it also contain elements of magical realism and–through Wash’s internal questions about the nature or freedom, cruelty, friendship, and his own place in the world–philosophy. I was caught up in the first half of the book, but my interested flagged at points in the second half. This book has often been compared to The Underground Railroad, but I found the latter to be a more focused and powerful read.
“Every now and then there comes a book so compelling, so consuming, that it makes your lover jealous.
You share intimate details, ideas, laughter over a glass of fine wine. You may change your thoughts, you may change the world while engaging in pillow talk under a soft amber glow as autumn crickets chirp out their own song of passion at the open window. It keeps you awake with desire until your eyelids are leaden, your body exhausted, the slumber heavy between you; falling asleep in a warm, mutual embrace.
Gently nudged among angled charcoal shadows to the plea for yet more attention, you readily acquiesce.
Awakening to dawns delicate lavender light, you pick up once again where you left off for just an hour, moments ago.
You find yourself skipping meals for your book, socially isolating. It’s an epic love affair between the two of you. You know it can’t last and that you’ll be indelibly changed by it, but you can’t help yourself. You find yourself reading ever slowly because, like life, it is so damn good that you want it to last forever. Yet the temptation to skip to the end, to learn the outcome, the moral, the true meaning of it is very near irresistible. You decide, once again to wait it out, read every word, every paragraph, every chapter. And, like life, in each one lies the magic.
A book such as this is one that I read just this week entitled, “Washington Black” by Esi Edugyan. It’s a story of slavery and oppression, a young boy, a slave named “George Washington Black” (Wash). He lives on a cane plantation, on the island of Barbados, in the West Indies in the early 1800’s.
It’s the story of his savage masters brother, his savior, Christopher Wilde (Titch). Titch chooses him to be his assistant with his engineering and aero studies and design.
The story unfolds into a journey, an adventure across continents; a study of human oppression and our ability to inflict unspeakable cruelty upon one another in the name of nothing more than self-righteousness. It brings us along with “Wash” on his search for meaning and Titch’s search for purpose. We meet many a supporting character, all of deep value to the stories eventuality.
This eloquently written book of words, paragraphs and chapters is one that held me captive with every exquisite turn of phrase. It frequently caused me to gasp, stop, breath deeply, read that again and try to integrate it into my very being.
I now, once again, into my mirror, call into question my own roots or the possibility of traces of racism as a white American female born and bred in the northeast. I examine what action I may have taken on behalf of those more oppressed, attempt to rid myself of stalling guilt, and ask, “What action will I pursue in the future?”
I do believe that this book indeed has the potential to become a contemporary classic.
It’s a book you may enjoy, perhaps not. Good writing, for all of its literary critical and educational praise is, in the end, subjective.
“Washington Black” is shortlisted for the Man Booker Award for 2018.”
Wilde NC 10.3.18