River Sing Me Home

by Eleanor Shearer

Hardcover, 2023

Status

Available

Call number

823.9200

Genres

Publication

Berkley (2023), 336 pages

Description

"Rare. Moving. Powerful. This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother's gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children in the aftermath of slavery marks the arrival of a remarkable new talent. Her search begins with an ending.... The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs. Away from Providence, she begins a desperate search to find her children-the five who survived birth and were sold. Are any of them still alive? Rachel has to know. The grueling, dangerous journey takes her from Barbados then, by river, deep into the forest of British Guiana and finally across the sea to Trinidad. She is driven on by the certainty that a mother cannot be truly free without knowing what has become of her children, even if the answer is more than she can bear. These are the stories of Mary Grace, Micah, Thomas Augustus, Cherry Jane and Mercy. But above all this is the story of Rachel and the extraordinary lengths to which a mother will go to find her children...and her freedom"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member VanessaCW

Set in the Caribbean islands of Barbados, British Guiana and Trinidad in 1834 just after the declaration of the abolition of slavery, this is the story of one woman’s journey to find her children who were so cruelly taken from her.

I enjoyed this moving story of love and hope set amidst the

brutality and inhumanity of the time of the slave trade. The research gone into putting this tale together is excellent. It’s well written and the descriptions of the various backdrops are very vivid. It is quite a slow burner, though, and I found the story somewhat meandering as we travel alongside the main character during her search for her family. A little like the River Demerara the characters are following throughout some of their plight. Overall, however, it’s a gripping and enlightening read about a disgraceful part of the world’s history, a worthy debut. It’s a story that needs to be told. A journey of education and illumination.

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LibraryThing member Faradaydon

This is one of the first books I’ve read in 2023 and I’ve no doubt I won’t read another as achingly beautiful – and brutal - this year.
Author Eleanor Shearer takes us on a journey for thousands of kilometres around the Caribbean, a journey inspired by her memories of visiting the island of

St Lucia when she was just 11.
It’s the story of Rachel, a slave in the 1830s on a sugarcane plantation. Like most female slaves she became pregnant many times. And like all slaves who became mothers, she turned her head when a baby was born, refusing to meet its eyes because she knew loss was the only certainty in her life.
Rachel flees the plantation and begins a year-long journey to try to track down the sons and daughters stolen from her. It’s a tender tale of courage and loss, of love and fear.
Most importantly, as the author says, it’s a story that’s not afraid to confront the worst horrors of slavery and colonialism, but at its heart it’s a story about freedom and, most importantly, love.

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LibraryThing member froxgirl

This unique novel combines adventure with the violent history of slavery in the Caribbean, AFTER it was officially abolished by Great Britain in 1834. Protagonist Rachel escapes from a sugar plantation in Barbados and travels to British Guyana and Trinidad to seek the grown children who were sold

away from her. The remarkable journey introduces us to her fellow travelers and to Rachel's helpers, which include escaped enslaved plantation workers and indigenous people who come together to create farms to support themselves. The abusive treatment at the hands of white plantation owners and the physically destructive labor of cutting cane in unrelenting heat makes Rachel's quest all the more remarkable. The reunions are not always joyous, but she is truly a hero mother for the ages.

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LibraryThing member bookwyrmm

Beautiful novel that shows the strength of a mother's love.

LibraryThing member KallieGrace

Haunting and painfully beautiful. Hope hurts. A mother flees the plantation where she is still essentially enslaved despite slavery legally "ending" in the Caribbean. She is in search of her children who were torn from her over the years, having been sold to other enslavers. She had 11 children in

all, but only five lived long enough to be sold away from her. This is an amazing tale of a mother's journey to find her children and make sure they know her love. It is about how everyone finds freedom a little differently, and about the brutal hope that lives on if you can make peace with the pain that comes with it.

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LibraryThing member rmarcin

This is a historical novel set in the Caribbean in the 1830s. Rachel is a slave, but when the king announces an end to slavery, she rejoices. However, the plantation owner says they must work for him for 6 years as apprentices. This is just another form of slavery. Rachel runs, and escapes. But,

she now must search for her children who were taken from her over the years. She watches as they live their lives and grow. It is a realistic look at slavery, race relations, and a mother's love.

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LibraryThing member pdebolt

This is the heartbreaking story of Rachel, a slave on a sugar cane plantation in Barbados in 1864 when the Emancipation Act is decreed; however, the slaves are held for another six years as apprentices and runaways will still be captured and punished. Determined to find the children that have been

taken from her and probably sold at auction, she makes the decision to run in the dead of night.

Due to the assistance of generous strangers, Rachel escapes and eventually finds her daughter, Mary Grace, in the employ of kind people. The two of them begin a dangerous journey by ship to find her other missing children. She is undaunted by the perils that await as she seeks her other children. This is a testament to her strength, courage and unrelenting resolve to reunite with those who have so cruelly been taken from her.

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