Remarkable for its keenness of observation, subtlety, and restraint, The Longest Memory heralds the arrival of a major new voice in the contemporary literature of the African diaspora.
The tragic story of a rebellious, fiercely intelligent young slave who breaks all the rules: in learning to read and write; in falling in love with a white girl, the daughter of his owner, and finally in trying to escape and joining her in the free North.
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Summary
Remarkable for its keenness of observation, subtlety, and restraint, The Longest Memory heralds the arrival of a major new voice in the contemporary literature of the African diaspora.
The tragic story of a rebellious, fiercely intelligent young slave who breaks all the rules: in learning to read and write; in falling in love with a white girl, the daughter of his owner, and finally in trying to escape and joining her in the free North.
Description
'A gripping lyric exploration of the life of Whitechapel, a slave on an 18th century Virginia plantation... a brilliant - and beautiful - achievement.' Independent on SundayWritten in taut, poetic language, THE LONGEST MEMORY is set on a Virginian plantation in the 19th century, and tells the tragic story of a rebellious, fiercely intelligent young slave who breaks all the rules- in learning to read and write, in falling in love with a white girl, the daughter of his owner, and, finally, in trying to escape and join her in the free North. For his attempt to flee, he is whipped to death in front of his family, and this brutal event is the pivot around which the story evolves.
Awards
Winner of David Higham Prize for Fiction 1994
Winner of Whitbread Prize (First Novel) 1994
Winner of Whitbread Book Awards: First Novel Category 1994
Critic Reviews
“A haunting novel whose brevity and directness belie the depths of tragedy it plumbs.”
"" -- Aida Edemariam The Guardian (London) "D'Aguiar marks his accomplished arrival as a novelist with this compelling and compassionate work" -- Sean Coughlan The Times "A short book that speaks volumes about slavery... Keeping his page taut with compression and compassion, D'Aguiar makes The Longest Memory hard to forget" -- Peter Kemp Sunday Times "This deceptively simple book resonates long after it is finished" -- Paula Burnett New Statesman and Society
About the Author
Fred D'Aguiar was born in London in 1960 and raised in Guyana and south-east London. He now lives in Florida, where he teaches English at the University of Miami. Author of four novels and four books of poetry, he has been awarded the University of Kent's T.S. Eliot prize for poetry, the Guyanese National Poetry Award and the Malcolm X prize for poetry. He also won the 1994 Whitbread First Novel Award and the David Higham Award for The Longest Memory.
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