Biography of a Runaway Slave [Paperback]

Miguel Barnet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1995

In this remarkable testimony, Cuban novelist and anthropologist Miguel Barnet presents the narrative of 105-year-old Esteban Montejo, who lived as a slave, as fugitive in the wilderness, and as a soldier in the Cuban War of Independence. Honest, blunt, compassionate, shrewd, and engaging, his voice provides an extraordinary insight into the African culture that took root in the Caribbean.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this 1968 title, Cuban poet, novelist, and anthropologist Barnet recounts the life of Esteban Montejo, a former slave who became a fugitive living in the wild and later served as a soldier in Cuba's war for independence. Barnet received the information firsthand through interviews with Montejo in his 105th year (he lived to 113). Though on the surface this is the story of one man, on a larger scale it serves as an account of how African culture was introduced to the Caribbean through slavery. This is the first paperback edition of the volume.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...a powerful account of a vanished world...invaluable." -- Newsweek

"...as authentic a voice of history as you are likely to hear." -- National Catholic Reporter

"He [Esteban] is the radical truth so many of us are still so reluctant to face." -- National Catholic Reporter

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Product Details

• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Curbstone Books (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880684187
• ISBN-13: 978-1880684184
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Masterful reconstruction of the life of a Cuban slave, June 15, 2000

By 

Robert M. Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biography of a Runaway Slave (Paperback)

Miguel Barnet, eduated in Havana at an American school, came to discover his Cuban heritage later in life. His tour-de-force was The Life of a Runaway Slave, the as-told-to-biography of Estaban Montejo, an earthy, candid man who had runaway from the sugar fields and who had fought in Cuba's wars for independence. One thing readers must remember is that Barnet intevriewed Montejo when the latter was 103 years old, in a nursing home, in 1963 when the interviews were started. Oral history is difficult enough and this great time-lag makes the task of the interviewer even more dificult.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great read, May 13, 2007

By 

K. Tooms "Gulfcore Srfr" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biography of a Runaway Slave (Paperback)

This book gives great insight into a slave's life and his attitudes before and after freedom. He also tells about living in the woods as a runaway. Well worth the money.

5.0 out of 5 stars Oral storytelling at its best, June 4, 2011

By 

mcewin "mac" (St. John's, NL, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biography of a Runaway Slave (Paperback)

The singular virtue of this riveting story is the re-creation of the mind of a 103-year-old man, Esteban Montejo, remembering his life through a series of changes of slavery, emancipation, revolution, the Spanish-American War, which few of us can imagine. This the translator does with great passion, great humor, and great honesty. The story has been rendered with great delicacy and a flavour the catches Creole rhythms. Recalling being disciplined by an officer during the revolution for leaving his post without permission, Esteban remarks, "I was saved, but I still go around thinking about that man's mother." Later, recalling the past and looking to the future, he remarks, "I don't want to die so that I can fight all the battles yet to come. I won't get into the trenches or use any of these modern weapons. A machete will do for me."

The present text is apparently a reworking of a 1966 text by the same translator, which was used in German translation by the avant-garde composer Hans Werner Henze as the 'libretto' for his stage work "El Cimarron", for vocalist and a small chamber group. El Cimarron has also been performed in English, using Barnet's original text.