February 2, 2010 Literary Arts

The book of nightmares

Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes an important read

by Arshad Khan

GRAPHIC VIVIEN LEUNG

The Book of Negroes Lawrence Hill Harper Collins 384 pp $19.85

Once in a while a book comes along that pulls the Ikea rug right from under your feet and lands you on your behind. Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes has just that effect—still has that effect. The recent recipient of CBC Radio’s Canada Reads 2009 award, Hill takes us through the horrid world of slavery as seen through the eyes of the young, beautiful and adventurous midwife, Aminatha Diallo—Meena for short.

While in England helping abolitionists with their mission against the slave trade, Aminatha recalls the story of her life, how she was kidnapped from her village in West Africa at the age of 12 and sold into slavery. We see the world through the eyes of a woman who cannot fathom the extent of greed that drives white colonizers to such abhorrent lengths.

The actual Book of Negroes is an enormous document that lists the black men and women escaping slavery, poverty and hunger in the United States for promises of hope and freedom in Nova Scotia. It is a racist document, listing people’s attributes like farm animals and categorizing them in relation to their usefulness to their masters.

According to Butch Lee and Red Rover, authors of the non-fiction book Night Vision, it was African slavery that gave North America its competitive edge over Europe. By reducing workers’ wages to zero, America became very wealthy. The Book of Negroes is a piece of historical fiction that attests to Lee and Rover’s claims.

What is striking about Aminatha’s tale is her conviction and strong sense of identity at a time of great shame when the brutal and bloody legacy of North America is being established.
You feel anguish reading how Aminatha is dehumanized and brutalized by not just the European-American white slave owners, but by other Africans as well. Hill vividly captures the role of the collaborator in the suffering of the enslaved and the internalization of race supremacy by its victims.

The book’s account of collusion amongst the British, Americans and then the Canadians is extremely revealing as it is made clear that economic and political interests took clear precedence. There were thousands of so-called “loyalists” to the British cause—the slaves who gave up their lives in order to fight for the British against the Americans in exchange for liberty and freedom. The Book of Negroes documents the plight of these people as they go from one situation of desperation in America to another situation of poverty and subjugation in Nova Scotia.

The book brings to light the many sacrifices that were made in order to achieve the gains we’ve made as people of colour or minorities. The struggle of the slaves parallels the lives of those who still remain without status or citizenship.

At times the book reads like a horror story. The movie rights to The Book of Negroes have been optioned by Toronto filmmakers Clement Virgo and Damon D’Oliveira. Whether it will be a horror film or a drama remains to be seen.