Customer Reviews

The Call of Zulina (Book One of the Grace in Africa Series)

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4 star:		(10)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been a fan of Kay Marshall Strom's work since reading Once Blind, her novelization of John Newton's life from slave trader to abolitionist (think "Amazing Grace.") Regardless of whether you read Strom's works of fiction or non-fiction, her heart for freedom, justice, and the respect of persons from all nations shines through.
In The Call of Zulina, the first in a new series of historical fiction --Grace in Africa -- Strom transports us to Africa in the late 1700s.

Grace Winslow is the daughter of an English sea captain and African princess, caught between two cultures and living a sheltered life. Having come to age largely unaware of her family's involvement in the slave trade and its harsh realities, Grace encounters it first hand at the slave fortress Zulina, following her escape from the family compound and an odious betrothal.

Swept into the midst of a desperate slave rebellion, Grace finds herself forced to confront both the tragedies of the slave trade in Africa, the complicity of her mother and other Africans, and her own unknowing contribution to the plight of her new companions. Strom's writing is vivid and irresistible. The pacing is excellent, and, like Grace, I found myself inexorably pulled along by the action swirling around me as I read.

Some of the moments of high-drama seem a bit clichéd, but that sense of no-turning-back choices and intense declarations lend the book a big-screen movie production feel; I'd love to see this title appear on the big screen. Likewise, some of Strom's characters seem a bit too typecast. Grace's mother, for example, is pure evil, willing to sacrifice her child without a moment's thought for her own purposes. As a mother I found it unbelievable that there wasn't any conflict present in her choices, as there was in those of Joseph Winslow.

The Call of Zulina can certainly be classified as Christian fiction, but Strom integrates considerations of faith carefully, mainly questioning how those who claim to know God can live in ways that sanctify cruelty. The faith of the Winslow's house slave Mama Muco and its influence on Grace's perspective also play some role in the storyline, but there's no clear presentation of the gospel.

While there are some very slight hints at romance as Grace's admiration for the powerful leader Cabeto grows, the novel's forward momentum is carried by the search for freedom that unites Grace with the Africans imprisoned at Zulina. The blending of a diverse array of African cultures lends authenticity and additional depth to The Call of Zulina.

It's exciting to read a well-penned novel set outside of the typically European and American settings predominant in Christian historical fiction. Anyone with an interest in the history of slavery -- particularly at ground zero -- will find The Call of Zulina a passionately written title that keeps interest high from start to finish.

I usually take a new book with me when I travel by air. In most cases, I'm able to read going and coming. I usually reserve my flight book just for flying and airport-waiting time. This last flight was different.

I started reading The Call of Zulina after I settled in my seat and I kept reading after arriving at my destination. The story and characters were so engaging I couldn't wait for the return flight to finish.

Kay Marshall Strom's story is somewhat based on fact - a white slave-trader married to an African. That in of itself makes a compelling reason to read the book of eighteenth-century slave trade in West African. It is, however, their daughter Grace who is the focus of the story.

Grace is the couple's only child and is raised to be a proper English lady. Her life changes dramatically when her father promises her in marriage as part of a business arrangement.

When Grace runs away from the marriage, and from her home, she learns the truth behind her father's wealth and her mother's anger. Thrown suddenly into the world of kidnapped natives as an African, Grace is respected by some of the captives because of her attempts to help them. Others distrust her because she's their capturer's daughter.

The Call of Zulina is the first in the Grace in Africa trilogy. This series is more than a good story. Ms. Storm is attempting to use story telling to shine a light on the continued problem of slavery.

She notes on her website ([...]) that although its been more than 200 years since the first anti-slavery law was passed, it continues under nicer names of sex trafficking, human trafficking, bonded labor, or child labor. Ms. Strom says, " . . . today slavery is against the law in every country of the world. It is up to us to demand that those laws be enforced."

The book includes a lexicon of words used by native African people and slave traders. I didn't refer to the lexicon while reading because Ms. Strom"s writing makes each one clear within context.

Discussion question are also included, which are ideal for a book club, and for high school students. Students can learn about the humanity behind the facts of slave trade.

Don't wait for a flight across country to read The Call of Zulina. Do prepare to be so enthralled with Grace's tale that you don't want to leave.

I found this book to be very hard to put down! The plot is so unique and different than anything else I've ever read. Usually books about African slaves are after they have been taken on the slave ships to other countries, this was a unique plot because it takes place in Africa. Although some parts were a little difficult to follow I throughly enjoyed it. This is not a predictable book and the "surprise" elements really did come as a surprise to me. I wasn't expecting this to be such a good book and I was impressed. I can't wait to start the sequal!

This is a good book. This is an interesting subject with Grace a daughter of a Black Princess and White slave trader but neither black or white. How Kay weaves the story its interesting and very captivating. I was crying at times with emotion and the book had me captivated. This is a moving book and deal in a real way about slavery and the way it was looked on. After reading books like this it just shows how bad slavery was and the whole slave trade and made me feel so sad for those people. There is alot of emotion and true courage in this book and I would recommend everyone read it. Its the type of story that needs to be read so we don't forget what did happen but at the same time make sure it never happens again. Thanks Kay for a wonderful thought provoking and emotional book cant wait for book 2.

Kay Marshall Strom's new novel Call of Zulina (the first in the "Grace in Africa" series) dives head first into a time and place few of us know much about, and fewer care to confront. The story gets its inspiration from a place known as Goree Island in the country of Senegal in West Africa, a hub of the slave trade to Britain and America in the late 1700s. Millions of men, women, and children languished there in chains until enough salable souls collected to fill a slave ship. The conditions weren't suitable for dogs, let alone human beings.

In Kay's fictionalized story, young Grace Winslow lives in naive luxury in the shadow of Zulina, the slave fortress owned by her British father and her African princess mother. Her parents' marriage of convenience is loveless and abusive, a lifestyle that Grace is determined not to repeat in spite of her father's wishes that she marry a wealthy but boorish Englishman. Grace's bi-racial state is another enigma in an environment where most blacks are slaves and most whites own them. Where and with whom does Grace belong? Her escape from the family compound leads her on the journey to answer that question. But in the process, she discovers much more than she had expected--or wanted--to know.

The plot is fast-paced and, at times, the book was hard to put down. Strom has an uncanny way of making a setting come alive with her wonderful, imaginative descriptions. I could easily feel the "blast of hot wind" that "gusted in the faraway voices of the ntumpane--the talking drums." Occasionally, I fumbled with some "head hopping" within a scene or chapter, but that certainly didn't deter me from wanting to know what would happen to Grace, and how she would escape the dismal dungeon of Zulina.

Although the story addresses some horrific human indignities and cruelties, Strom writes so graciously and passionately that one feels more informed and edified than ashamed of being white. The message of redemption weaves its way throughout the storyline as her characters show us hope in the midst of hopelessness--and virtue that can rise above evil.

The book is certainly appropriate for teens and adults--and recommendable as an introduction to the realities of slavery, both past and present. The author's Christian worldview is evident but not overt, giving the book good crossover appeal.

I just finished the Call of Zulina and I was pleasantly surprised. I read a variety of Christian fiction in search of well written stories and unfortunately the pickings are slim. I read that Kay Strom mostly writes non-ficition and I think that's what I love about her writing technique, the way she tells certain parts of the story almost as if she were writing a non-fiction piece like you'd see in a newspaper. While the subject matter of the Call of Zulina is heavy, she has a great way of zooming in close when it's necessary for the reader to really FEEL what's going on, but also a great way of zooming out to give us our space and not totally overwhelm us with horrible details so we can stick with it without sinking into depression over the atrocities of that time. I always love it when a writer can step out of the norm and surprise and engage me and Kay Strom did that. I'm looking forward to reading the next books that come out in the series.

In America we receive much education about the history of slavery in our nation but we don't hear so much about the other side. This story is set in Africa and relates the experiences of Grace, the daughter of an English slave trader and an African princess. I generally like to read stories which entertain so I wasn't sure that, considering the tragic topic of this book, I would want to read it to the end. I ended up enjoying it and am now reading the next in the series.

Just finished reading and found it be a very good book. Now on to the next. I want to see if it picks up where this one left off.

This series is an excellent series! I'll admit that the first book started off a little slow to me, but once I got past that, I was HOOKED! I couldn't get enough. I NEEDED to know what happened next!

Great series and I look forward to reading more by this author!

The family business is not something you have to continue. "The Call of Zulina" is the story of Grace Winslow, daughter of a English nobleman and African woman, as she finds herself fighting against her family's business of the slave trade in the late eighteenth century. Fighting the very people she's trying to save at times, her story is a unique one, as Kay Marshall Strom puts together a very entertaining tale. "The Call of Zulina" is a read that shouldn't be ignored for historical fiction collections.