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Available
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Genres
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Library's review
Book-length graphic novel style history of women-led slave revolts in the Caribbean.
Publication
Simon & Schuster (2021), 208 pages
Description
"An historical and imaginative tour-de-force, WAKE brings to light for the first time the existence of enslaved black women warriors, whose stories can be traced by carefully scrutinizing historical records; and where the historical record goes silent, WAKE reconstructs the likely past of two female rebels, Adono and Alele, on the slave ship The Unity. WAKE is a graphic novel that offers invaluable insight into the struggle to survive whole as a black woman in today's America; it is a historiography that illuminates both the challenges and the necessity of uncovering the true stories of slavery; and it is an overdue reckoning with slavery in New York City where two of these armed revolts took place. It is, also, a transformative and transporting work of imaginative fiction, bringing to three-dimensional life Adono and Alele and their pasts as women warriors. In so doing, WAKE illustrates the humanity of the enslaved, the reality of their lived experiences, and the complexity of the history that has been, till now, so thoroughly erased"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member TooLittleReading
Disclosure: I read this as a free ARC via NetGalley, and received no compensation other than the chance to read this title.
Potential triggers: rape; violence; racism.
Having read Wake, I found this title to be reminiscent of the feel of Maus, or George Takei's They Called Us Enemy.
A well-written
Informative and thought-provoking, Wake leads the reader down a journey of how slaves were viewed in the legal system and how the slave trade was run. Wake shows how those running and bankrolling the slave trade refuse to acknowledge their roles while the descendants of slaves have to grapple with this soul-crushing legacy.
Absolutely recommended for those who are willing to chase uncomfortable history, or gain a new perspective on the history they thought they knew.
Potential triggers: rape; violence; racism.
Having read Wake, I found this title to be reminiscent of the feel of Maus, or George Takei's They Called Us Enemy.
A well-written
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balance of emotion and scholarly depth, this work shows both why the pursuit of 'hidden history' is needed and why it can be so painful, especially in today's polarizing, willfully ignorant world.Informative and thought-provoking, Wake leads the reader down a journey of how slaves were viewed in the legal system and how the slave trade was run. Wake shows how those running and bankrolling the slave trade refuse to acknowledge their roles while the descendants of slaves have to grapple with this soul-crushing legacy.
Absolutely recommended for those who are willing to chase uncomfortable history, or gain a new perspective on the history they thought they knew.
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LibraryThing member SChant
This is a stunning book. Part memoir, part history or historical reconstruction of the women who led and participated in the slave revolts during the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade. It is emotionally powerful, reclaiming hidden stories from history and showing how they echo down through the
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ages. An important work. It would have had 5 stars but I didn't care for the scratchy drawing style. Show Less
LibraryThing member froxgirl
This is a graphic novel and a story brilliantly told and imagined by a scholar who researches women's roles in slave rebellions, a field she seemingly has all to herself. Hall travels to New York and London (where she is refused admission to the archives of Lloyds of London, which insured much of
Quotes: “The British would like us to think that their only role in the trade was its abolition, but it was central to England’s economy, and regulated and managed at every level.”
“History, by definition, is the study of change over time.”
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the trade) to search maritime and historical archives from the 1700s. With very little that could be verified by written records (she basically finds only the first names of only four women), Hall creates her own narration and imagines how the brave leaders, in desperation and knowing the outcome is certain death, form their plans on land and sea. The most remarkable part of the book portrays the circumstances on the ships themselves: the diagrams she found which specified various configurations to pack the most humanity into the tiniest spaces, and the way women were allowed to be unchained on the decks, because the captains did not believe them capable of carrying out insurrection, and also to provide “benefit to the crew”. She also disputes the false claims that Africans were primarily responsible for enslavement of their fellow citizens and illuminates the difference between chattel (for profit) slavery and the sale of captives captured in wars, which happened in every country on earth. The illustrations are drawn in B&W comic book style, which I don't particularly like, with font size way too small, but the important story shines through.Quotes: “The British would like us to think that their only role in the trade was its abolition, but it was central to England’s economy, and regulated and managed at every level.”
“History, by definition, is the study of change over time.”
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LibraryThing member villemezbrown
Rebecca Hall creates a vibrant and fascinating mix of memoir, history, historiography, and historical fiction as she explores the present day for clues to women-led slave revolts in the 18th century, worrying tidbits out of dusty archives protected by uncooperative white men, and -- like a
The art is a little rougher than I prefer, but the story is masterfully polished and I could not bring myself to stop reading until I had finished.
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paleontologist imagining an entire dinosaur from a few small bones -- conjecturing why and how the revolts might have actually happened, bringing to life women whose very names have been lost to history.The art is a little rougher than I prefer, but the story is masterfully polished and I could not bring myself to stop reading until I had finished.
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LibraryThing member fionaanne
The artwork is terrible and it ruined the narrative for me. I skim read and tried to ignore the drawing but it makes my head hurt, like a bunch of half-assed sketches nobody cared enough to finish.
LibraryThing member Lana_Herrmann
An important topic that is laid out in an accessible way.
Beautifully written.
Beautifully written.
LibraryThing member RandyMorgan
Wake captivates the reader with the perfect union between past and present. Rebecca Hall shares the hardships she experienced while researching for her dissertation on the topic of women- led slave revolts. In Hugo Martinez harsh lines is reflection of the desperation and despair that characters
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feel. Wake allows the reader to experience complex emotions without belittling the reader for not knowing about the silent history. Show Less
LibraryThing member elahrairah
Wonderful, fascinating, and depressing!
LibraryThing member Koralis
Amazing job. This graphic novel mixes memoir with real historical events. This took me a few days to read due to the subject matter. Slavery is heavily whitewashed and pretty soon it won't be taught. I am so glad I came across this and decided to read this. I hope Rebecca Hall publishes more books,
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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I am already a fan!I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member cbl_tn
The graphic novel format is an unusual choice for a memoir of a historian’s research into the history of slavery and women-led slave revolts, but it works. The clear text and the black and white illustrations combine to impress on the reader the enormity of the historian’s task, the frustration
This book would be useful for college students as an introduction to historical research. Hall describes her research question, the libraries and archival repositories she visited, the record groups she searched, and the other repositories and records the trail led her to.
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arising from incomplete or missing historical records, and the anger and shame at running up against barriers to access to primary sources that might contain answers to the historian’s questions. The illustrations give form and face to enslaved persons whose names have mostly been lost to history but whose resistance to enslavement lives on in history for those who make an effort to see it.This book would be useful for college students as an introduction to historical research. Hall describes her research question, the libraries and archival repositories she visited, the record groups she searched, and the other repositories and records the trail led her to.
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Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Audiobook of the Year — 2023)
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Nominee — Debut Author — 2022)
NPR: Books We Love (2021)
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2022)
Penn GSE's Best Books for Young Readers (Selection — Graphic Novels — 2021)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2021-06
Physical description
208 p.; 9 inches
ISBN
1982115181 / 9781982115180