W A S H I N G T O N B L A C K

\\ Washington Black \\ Esi Edugyan \\ Book Review 3.5⭐️ \\

“You were more concerned that slavery should be a moral stain upon white men, than by the actual damage it wreaks on black men.”

Washington Black was born in Barbados, on a slave plantation. At 11 years old and with a cruel new master, his luck changes when the Master’s brother Christopher Wilde, takes him on as his manservant. After a cruel turn of events they are forced to flee on his Flying machine and race across to the Arctic, to find Wilde’s father. It follows Washington’s journey and life, across the globe.

It started off SO well, I absolutely devoured Part 1, but I found the later story a little harder to keep up with. Edugyan has a real talent for sweeping you along through the story, I just wanted a little bit more from it. I’m not going to give away any spoilers but I think some parts were just underwhelming, I understand the message she was trying to make but it all got a bit lost in the travelling. Hard hitting with the racism and prejudice that Washington endures throughout his life but just found it hard to compare to The Underground Railroad’s brilliance.

I encourage you to read it, but be prepared for feeling a bit lost half way through. I really wanted to completely love it, feeling sad that it wasn’t what I expected.