The Book of Negroes

Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes represents a refreshing take of contemporary novelists' exploration of that peculiar institution : the enslavement of Africans and their descendants in the Americas. Unlike Toni Morrison, Hill aims for the big picture, providing the reader with a widespanning panorama of American society during the colonial period. He succeeds in creating credible and palpable characters without succumbing to simplistic points of view about a highly complex subject. The ordeals of Aminata Diallo and her lifelong search of justice convey a universal resonance of the human condition. Time is portrayed as the Great Deformer rather than necessarily a source of foolproof consolation. A haunting historical novel.