Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Faber & Faber (2018), Edition: Open Market - Airside ed, 464 pages
Description
Martinique, 1765, and brothers Emile and Lucien are charged by their French master, Father Cleophas, with a mission. They must return to Grenada, the island they once called home, and smuggle back the 42 slaves claimed by English invaders at the hospital plantation in Fort Royal. While Lucien, barely in his teens, sees the trip as a great adventure, the older and worldlier Emile has no illusions about the dangers they will face. But with no choice other than to obey Cleophas - and sensing the possibility, however remote, of finding his first love Celeste - he sets out with his brother on this 'reckless venture'.
User reviews
LibraryThing member brenzi
”Cane is sugar. Sugar is money.”
Lucien is a thirteen year old slave boy in 1765 and lives on the island of Martinique when the head friar that he tends to the livestock for gives him and his much older brother Emile a task: travel by boat to (now English) Grenada and bring back the slaves that
Jane Harris’ new novel is based on a true story and it’s really a very good historical fiction. In Lucien, she has once again created a unique narrative voice with the lilt of the Caribbean and the innocence of a child. These two loving brothers face the daunting task with courage and great skill but the obstacles are extreme. A true adventure story develops as Emile explains the dangers to the slaves who would like nothing better than to return to Martinique and a plan is developed.
The descriptions of atrocities inflicted upon the slaves by the English are abominable and hard to stomach. Harris does not hold back. But it helps to explain the desperateness of these people who are willing to attempt an escape. Not that their life on Martinique will improve immensely. They will still be slaves, toiling in the cane fields for the friars who urgently need to increase their coffers by making the very profitable commodity, sugar, but apparently the French were preferable to the English.
So an adventure story ultimately. And that makes it very different from Harris’ two previous books, which had a bit of the unexpected, a bit of the surprising, a bit of the shocking. And while I enjoyed this story, for which she did meticulous research, (although she will undoubtedly be accused of appropriation) it’s not the Harris I have come to expect. Still highly recommended.
Lucien is a thirteen year old slave boy in 1765 and lives on the island of Martinique when the head friar that he tends to the livestock for gives him and his much older brother Emile a task: travel by boat to (now English) Grenada and bring back the slaves that
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rightfully belong to the friars. They are especially suited for the task because Lucien speaks very good English and Emile knows the slaves very well, having been one of them.Jane Harris’ new novel is based on a true story and it’s really a very good historical fiction. In Lucien, she has once again created a unique narrative voice with the lilt of the Caribbean and the innocence of a child. These two loving brothers face the daunting task with courage and great skill but the obstacles are extreme. A true adventure story develops as Emile explains the dangers to the slaves who would like nothing better than to return to Martinique and a plan is developed.
The descriptions of atrocities inflicted upon the slaves by the English are abominable and hard to stomach. Harris does not hold back. But it helps to explain the desperateness of these people who are willing to attempt an escape. Not that their life on Martinique will improve immensely. They will still be slaves, toiling in the cane fields for the friars who urgently need to increase their coffers by making the very profitable commodity, sugar, but apparently the French were preferable to the English.
So an adventure story ultimately. And that makes it very different from Harris’ two previous books, which had a bit of the unexpected, a bit of the surprising, a bit of the shocking. And while I enjoyed this story, for which she did meticulous research, (although she will undoubtedly be accused of appropriation) it’s not the Harris I have come to expect. Still highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member herschelian
Set on the island of Grenada in the West Indies this is an absolutely gripping tale of a few weeks in 1765 AD. Two mulatto slaves who are owned by a French religious order, are sent from the plantations in Martinique to Grenada to persuade the slaves there to run-away with them back to Martinique,
All this has to be done in secret without the plantation overseers and military on Grenada getting wind of the planned escape. Needless to say this is not easy and there were fmany moments when my heart was in my mouth as it seemed they would be discovered and subject to the brutal treatment the British were feared for.
The two main characters are brothers, Emile and Lucien; Emile is in his late 20s, Lucien is 12-13yrs old and desperate to be thought of as a 'man', he often defies instructions and takes foolhardy actions endangering himself and others.
Ultimately the scheme fails, and only Lucien and one other slave actually get away.
The first European settlers in the West Indies grew indigo as a crop, but then changed to growing sugar cane, a far more profitable enterprise, as the sugar was in great demand overseas, and could also be turned into rum, another commodity that made good money.
What I found of great interest was the life of the slaves - different from the slavery that was practiced in the Southern States of America 100 years later - far darker and more brutal.
Jane Harris writes beautifully, you feel you are really in that place at that time, and the language is a lively mix of French, English and the creole patois.
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The slaves had formerly belonged to the Fathers of Charitie's plantation on Grenada but who had been taken by the British military when they wrested control of the island from France. All this has to be done in secret without the plantation overseers and military on Grenada getting wind of the planned escape. Needless to say this is not easy and there were fmany moments when my heart was in my mouth as it seemed they would be discovered and subject to the brutal treatment the British were feared for.
The two main characters are brothers, Emile and Lucien; Emile is in his late 20s, Lucien is 12-13yrs old and desperate to be thought of as a 'man', he often defies instructions and takes foolhardy actions endangering himself and others.
Ultimately the scheme fails, and only Lucien and one other slave actually get away.
The first European settlers in the West Indies grew indigo as a crop, but then changed to growing sugar cane, a far more profitable enterprise, as the sugar was in great demand overseas, and could also be turned into rum, another commodity that made good money.
What I found of great interest was the life of the slaves - different from the slavery that was practiced in the Southern States of America 100 years later - far darker and more brutal.
Jane Harris writes beautifully, you feel you are really in that place at that time, and the language is a lively mix of French, English and the creole patois.
Show Less
LibraryThing member decaturmamaof2
I don't know where to start. Harris has created a wonderful narrative. The story is heartbreaking and compelling. I can't wait to read more of her work.
Awards
The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (Shortlist — 2018)
HWA Crown Awards (Longlist — Gold — 2018)
Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize (Shortlist — Shortlist — 2018)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017
Physical description
464 p.; 4.37 inches
ISBN
9780571336944
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