very good book about a kidnapped free man put under slavery in the 1840s ( )

A riveting ebook. Hard to stop reading. Better than the movie with many more details.

Highly recommended! ( )

This cover though.

Wow, what a story. These are definitely ones that we do not hear much about but I am afraid to say, it probably was not that uncommon. I don't know that I would have had the strength and courage to go on under these circumstance. What an amazing man to do what he needed to do to survive and get back to his family. Kudos to the man that helped start his rescue and all the people that helped him become free again. I would be proud to come from these lineages.
Such a dark time in our history that we cannot forget. It is important for us to learn from our past. We need to learn to forgive the oppressors and not take it out on their ancestors and also to forgive our ancestors that may have partaken in these atrocities against others. We are all people and we all deserve love, freedom, happiness, etc. I hope we can continue forward in these pursuits for all. ( )

Narrated by Louis Gossett, Jr. (who is awesome if only for Enemy Mine), who read the book sounding a little stilted at first... then I realized, it's honestly how it's written. This isn't fiction. It's an actual book written by a man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery.

It's excellent, in the way of "true and horrible and graphic at times and terrifying and sometimes heartwarming".... Well worth reading.

Yet another book I'm glad I started on audio and my son listened to, if only to expose him to a very good book. ( )

While this story is alarmingly violent and more horrible because it's a true story, it was easier, for me, reading it, than it was to watch the movie... Somehow, knowing I can put the book down when it becomes unbearably sad, scary, aggravating... that makes it easier for me. ( )

In times like these when we complain about staying at home, it does our minds well to read books that make us realise what luxury we are still enjoying.

12 Years A Slave is one such brilliant book. Published in 1853, 8 years before the American civil war, it is the memoir of Solomon Northup, a black man from Saratoga, New York.

Solomon was a free black man from the north who was a skilled carpenter and violinist. Two white men tricked him into accompanying them as a violinist for a circus tour and after drugging him, sold him into slavery. Solomon didn't even have a chance to inform his wife or three kids about this drastic change in his circumstances.

It took 12 years for Solomon to finally escape the dreary turn his fate had taken. In this period, all the atrocities that he suffered or witnessed have been faithfully narrated in the book. He even provides detailed information on the cotton and sugarcane plantations of those days and how they functioned.

Solomon's narrative comes across as very factual and straightforward. There is no self-pity, there is no evident exaggeration. In fact, there is hardly any hate, just loads of truth. He doesn't hesitate in calling a spade a spade, but at the same time, says, "It is not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel so much as it is the fault of the system under which he lives." That single line shows so much of awareness and wisdom!

A word of praise must go to David Wilson, the transcriber, editor and publisher of this book. The entire book has clarity of writing and appropriate use of vocabulary. It was a pleasure to read such English and rendered in me after long, the satisfaction of reading a well-worded book.

Solomon's book is an eye-opener on the slave trade of the American South before the civil war, specifically in Louisiana. You will find a few similarities in his narrative to Uncle Tom's Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. (In fact, this book is dedicated to Stowe.) But just keep in mind that while Uncle Tom's Cabin was a fictionalized rendition of events, 12 Years A Slave comprises facts. That is enough to change your perspective and deepen the impact of the book.

12 Years A Slave is currently in the public domain and hence you can download it from any site offering such books such as archive.org or Project Gutenberg. It is also available as an audio book on Oodles and FreeBooks apps. Go for it. And appreciate the life you have been living in a free country as a free citizen.


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Join me on the Facebook group, "Readers Forever!", for more reviews and other book-related discussions and fun. ( )

Don't be off-put by the Victorian language. We can blame Northup's editor for that. The book is a must-read document. I would have found the story too incredible to believe if not for the painstaking research of Clifford Brown, Rachel Seligman, and David Friske who drew on original sources for their biography, Solomon Northup: The Complete Story of the Author of Twelve Years A Slave. ( )

It might be a challenging read for folks who prefer short, common words. It's a well told depiction of the culture of slavery in Louisiana, including interesting details of work on a cotton plantation. ( )

It's difficult to sum up the twelve years of anguish and agony experienced by Solomon Northup when he was a free man living in New York, swindled, kidnapped, and enslaved - for twelve years. Written in the 1800s by Mr. Northrup and brought to our modern attention in 2013, Twelve Years a Slave is remarkably written, such good and proper King's English, so flowing and beautiful, his words, so savage and unconscionable his treatment. We should all take a lesson from Mr. Northup in his ability to lean into his situation yet never give up hope. He survived the worst of the worst and lived to reunite with his wife and children and tell the tale. We, humans, have done some awful things; slavery is one of the worst, and as a white American, I hang my head. ( )

Slavery

"Life is dear to every living thing; the worm that crawls upon the ground will struggle for it."

Solomon Northup was born a free man in the state of New York, married, had three children who along with his wife was creative enough to scrape together an income. When two men invite Solomon to travel with them to Washington with the promise of money, he quickly agrees to join them. Unfortunately, whilst there he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. Once crossing to the Southern States, he knew that nobody would believe he was a free man and those who did, would most likely kill him rather than set him free. So for twelve years he kept his mouth shut and played the role of Platt the slave on different plantations in Louisiana.

Solomon/Platt had different owners, while some treated him with humanity, others were mere brutes and unnecessarily cruel who actually tried to kill him more than once. Solomon first works at a cotton plantation but is later hired out to sugar cane plantations where he is way more productive. He helped to build new houses and other buildings, he stands out for his cleverness and violin skills until he finally met someone whom he believed that he could truly trust and help him reclaim his freedom.

This book was written back in 1853 shortly after his release from slavery but isn't just another testimony written by a slave, in this memoir we see the facts through the eyes of a free man that was forced into slavery. Solomon Northup was obviously an educated man, the prose is generally easy to read, but he can spend five pages detailing the various stages of cotton growing. However, on the slightly down side this story was written as a report and therefore has a certain lack of passion, meaning that there seemed to be a certain disconnect between the cruelty inflicted and the suffering felt. There are also quite a few religious references scattered throughout which along with the previous point can make it feel a little dry at times. However, this is still a powerful read and without doubt a must read for anyone who is interested in reading about slavery and a dark side of America's history. .

"What difference is there in the colour of the soul." ( )

I was curious to read this, but I didn't buy it until after the movie. The movie is very close to the book. At this point, I wanted to know how he wrote. Very well written. ( )

I was curious to read this, but I didn't buy it until after the movie. The movie is very close to the book. At this point, I wanted to know how he wrote. Very well written. ( )

Wow, what a story. These are definitely ones that we do not hear much about but I am afraid to say, it probably was not that uncommon. I don't know that I would have had the strength and courage to go on under these circumstance. What an amazing man to do what he needed to do to survive and get back to his family. Kudos to the man that helped start his rescue and all the people that helped him become free again. I would be proud to come from these lineages.
Such a dark time in our history that we cannot forget. It is important for us to learn from our past. We need to learn to forgive the oppressors and not take it out on their ancestors and also to forgive our ancestors that may have partaken in these atrocities against others. We are all people and we all deserve love, freedom, happiness, etc. I hope we can continue forward in these pursuits for all. ( )

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Story Cartel in exchange for my honest review.

This book was an extremely intense read, particularly because all the events narrated have truly happened. For me, the idea that a free man could be so easily kidnapped and sold into slavery - where he remained for 12 whole years - is absolutely horrifying. And even more so because this can (and does) still happen today. One of the best features of this particular edition is that it contains an interactive guide to modern slavery, which draws parallels between Solomon Northup's story and the situation of modern slaves. Very eye-opening, to say the least. The only negative aspect is that parts of this guide are placed throughout the narrative, interrupting the flow of the story several times.

Solomon Northup's memoir is incredibly powerful, as he describes his 12 years of slavery in extreme detail, including several heart-breaking scenes of physical abuse. He is not afraid to acknowledge his own mistakes and fears, and relates the cruelty as well as the humanity of the people he meets, from his various masters to his fellow slaves. But even though he recognises the existence of "good masters", the whole memoir casts a strong judgment against the society that allowed slavery to exist in the first place:

There may be humane masters, as there certainly are inhuman ones - there may be slaves well-clothed, well-fed, and happy, as there surely are those half-clad, half-starved and miserable; nevertheless, the institution that tolerates such wrong and inhumanity as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust and barbarous one.

Although the narrative is sometimes very slow-paced, it is for the most part a really compelling read. Definitely recommended for anyone looking to learn more about slavery, past and present, and wishing to reflect on the ever-current theme of equality.

What difference is there in the color of the soul?

( )

Really good book in it's biographical retelling of Soloman Northups life and experience but I felt it lacked an emotional connection. In moments when the most horrendous wrong is being done I felt it purely because it was so wrong not as a result of the storytelling. The book is an academic recounting of salve life rather than a novel, which is fairness to the book and the writer is really what it was planned for. ( )

For those who haven't seen the Oscar winning film, this is the true story of an educated successful African American man with a loving family and career in the Northeast who was absconded by men he felt trustworthy and sold into slavery in the south. It's a vivid recounting of the conditions and treatment slaves experienced as well as the lucrative business involved. What he experienced while in slavery was enlightening in many ways arming him with valuable insights for his future. Having been educated and raised in the North, the author takes care in articulating the first person narrative with college level prose keeping the reader engaged. As to the film, its an accurate adaptation in all ways and for those who read the book will find it welcome. This can only be labeled 'sad but true' and is revealing in many ways especially in light of today's separatist issues. ( )

Like most people who read this in the past 10 years, I saw the movie and only now picked up the book, something I’ve been meaning to do for years. As someone too late in the college game to properly study American folk cultures, I find a lot of interest in slave narratives, and this one was very solid, moving, but somehow challenging.

Something that really struck me while reading this was historical relativism. Solomon abhors slavery, but still finds it in himself to somewhat excuse the character of his first owner by emphasizing the good christianity of the man. Later, the avid abolitionist who helps secure his freedom by risking all laws to travel across the country to ensure that comfortably uses the n-word. This was one of those authentic old-timey first person pov stories that made me realize how damn different the past was, especially morally.

I’m so glad Solomon was able to be freed and then be able to write about it and publish it. It is all so powerful and sobering. The song he transcribed at the end was ❤️ ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

Non-fiction that describes Solomon Northup’s experience as a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, where he remained from 1841 to 1853, working on plantations in Louisiana before being rescued through the efforts of friends and family. I was impressed by this account, especially since it was documented almost immediately upon his return to freedom when his memories were fresh. This powerful narrative vividly depicts life of a slave in the antebellum American South, including slave pens, sales, quarters, abuses, and the processes of picking cotton and harvesting sugar cane. Though he suffered severe misery, both physically and mentally, Solomon Northup never gave up hope of being released. This book shows the amazing resilience of the human spirit in the face of great adversity. It is surprisingly readable, considering it was published in 1853, with only a small amount of anachronistic language. I wish it had included more about how he re-adapted to his family and former life, but it is short and focused on his enslavement. Content warnings include extreme brutality, abuse, degradation, and racism. I found it a significant, still-relevant, first-hand indictment of slavery. This book is a piece of history. Recommended. ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/12-years-a-slave-and-twelve-years-a-slave/

I have previously read a number of slavery narratives – Frederick Douglass, Olaudah Equiano, Harriet Ann Jacobs, the research of Rebecca Hall and the close observations of Fanny Kemble – and they are all interesting in different ways. Douglass and Jacobs were born into slavery, and Equiano born in Africa, so Northrup’s account is unusual in being that of a man born free in the USA but then enslaved. It’s also unusual in the relatively neutral presentation of the means and motivation of the slave owners – these are evil people, sure, but their evil is an inevitable consequence of the system.

I also found it really interesting in the precision of the geography where everything happened – I found myself googling the Williams slave pen in Washington DC, and Bayou Boeuf in Louisiana. Northrup is also very detailed and convincing about the precise techniques of employing slave labour for both cotton and sugar cane farming. And of course he is crystal clear about the brutality of the slavery system.

Not surprisingly, there have been Northrup denialists since 1853, just as there have been Anne Frank denialists since a century later. But the level of verifiable detail about named individuals and places is tremendously convincing. It’s also fairly short, and well-written (as is normal for any mid-nineteenth-century writer). ( )

Wow, what a story. These are definitely ones that we do not hear much about but I am afraid to say, it probably was not that uncommon. I don't know that I would have had the strength and courage to go on under these circumstance. What an amazing man to do what he needed to do to survive and get back to his family. Kudos to the man that helped start his rescue and all the people that helped him become free again. I would be proud to come from these lineages.
Such a dark time in our history that we cannot forget. It is important for us to learn from our past. We need to learn to forgive the oppressors and not take it out on their ancestors and also to forgive our ancestors that may have partaken in these atrocities against others. We are all people and we all deserve love, freedom, happiness, etc. I hope we can continue forward in these pursuits for all. ( )

From inside cover: "Narrative of Solomon Northup, a citizen of New-York (sp), Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and rescued in 1853, from a cotton planation near the Red River in Louisiana.

True account of Solomon Northup who was born and raised as a free man in New York. In 1841 he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. This is a memoir of his 12 years as a slave in Louisiana.