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The Confessions of Nat Turner Paperback – November 10, 1992

by William Styron (Author)

121 customer reviews

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In the late summer of 1831, in a remote section of southeastern Virginia, there took place the only effective, sustained revolt in the annals of American Negro slavery...

The revolt was led by a remarkable Negro preacher named Nat Turner, an educated slave who felt himself divinely ordained to annihilate all the white people in the region.

The Confessions of Nat Turner is narrated by Nat himself as he lingers in jail through the cold autumnal days before his execution. The compelling story ranges over the whole of Nat's Life, reaching its inevitable and shattering climax that bloody day in August.

The Confessions of Nat Turner is not only a masterpiece of storytelling; is also reveals in unforgettable human terms the agonizing essence of Negro slavery. Through the mind of a slave, Willie Styron has re-created a catastrophic event, and dramatized the intermingled miseries, frustrations--and hopes--which caused this extraordinary black man to rise up out of the early mists of our history and strike down those who held his people in bondage.

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Product Details

Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 25 Reissue edition (November 10, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679736638
ISBN-13: 978-0679736639
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #92,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3010 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics
- #3840 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary
- #7873 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

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Customer Reviews

121

4.1 out of 5 stars

5 star		55%
4 star		22%
3 star		11%
2 star		5%
1 star		7%

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

278 of 289 people found the following review helpful

Racist? Decide for yourself.

By Christopher A. Smith on May 26, 2000

Format: Paperback

If William Styron has done us a disservice it's that he's unleashed upon America the concept of political correctness. The backlash against this book, to a large extent, is what started it all. Some of the criticism is on-target, but much is unfair.
Slaves typically have been depicted in one of two ways: as the simple-minded shuffling watermelon-eating darkie, or as the noble African struggling valiantly against the tyrannical white plantation.
One depiction is overtly racist, and the secondly is unrealistically romantic (and in it's own way demeaning).
What Styron gives us is "none of the above". What he tries to depict is a reality that is often overlooked or not acknowledged: that chattel slavery in the American South was a ruthlessly and crushingly effective system; so effective that throughout its history (from the 1600's through the Emancipation Proclamation) there were only two armed rebellions.
Slavery was obviously a great evil; it is equally obvious that as a mechanism for suppressing the enslaved it was remarkably effective. It follows that this mechanism will have an effect on the suppressed. Chattel slavery was, in many cases, a "breaker of spirits".
The depiction of the slaves in this book is not always positive. What Styron tries to show (sometimes successfully) is that slavery was a heavy weight, and that the slaves who bore this weight were not always noble. This is what many readers have found offensive, and why the book has been labeled "racist". This was not my impression (my background: I'm an African American raised in Texas.)
This is a novel full of ugliness and negative characters. There is not a single fully sympathetic character in the entire book, black or white.Read more ›

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58 of 61 people found the following review helpful

A powerful and exceedingly American novel

By Catherine S. Vodrey on September 6, 2002

Format: Paperback

William Styron had the misfortune to publish "The Confessions of Nat Turner" in the late 1960s. The timing was such that Styron had the odd experience of a) being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the book and b) being shunned by many, black and white, for having had the temerity to put himself in the mind of a black slave when he himself was a white Southerner.
The color of Styron's skin doesn't matter anymore than it should for anyone else. "The Confessions of Nat Turner" is a brutal accounting, from Nat Turner's point of view, of the events that led up to the only long-term revolt in the disgraceful history of American slavery. We see the beginnings of Turner's musings when, as a young and extraordinarily intelligent slave, he fights mentally against his enslavement. It's when the dam bursts and he decides to fight physically that his downfall begins. There is a suggestion of perhaps not mental illness, but a messianic complex here in Styron's rendering of Turner. It works, for a character in a novel, but some readers will be taken aback by the fact that Styron makes Turner somehow mentally unstable.
As with all books, the uninitiated reader wants to know: is it a good read? It is. It's propulsive and majestic and the kind of book you don't want to end. Styron handles the ending with great delicacy and restraint. "The Confessions of Nat Turner" is a sustained and detailed portrait of a compelling figure in early American history. It is a masterpiece.

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54 of 57 people found the following review helpful

Emotional truth

By nathalie cooper on March 11, 2000

Format: Paperback

I have always admired Styron's bravery in handling difficult subjects. Styron is a novelist in the classic tradition, and is concerned with depth of theme and pyschological motivation--two things that are sneered at in todays academic climate. Yes, it is a problem straying into the political arena--but Styron achieves the important task of humanising Nat Turner--making him real, and not some dusty abstract fictional personage--consigned to the footnotes of History. Racism has many faces, and as I read Styron's novel, I became angrier and angrier, as the palpable, grinding and dehumanising aspects of America's slave legacy was unfolded in Nat's story. The ending was incredibly powerful. I urge people, of all creeds and colours, to read this book and keep an open mind. Styron is NOT a racist, but a HUMANIST.The story he tells has eternal relevance, and is told with integrity and great literary skill. A book should stand alone, but I hope some day that this novel is made into a film. Its story is too important to remain locked within the literary arena.

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

American classic from one of America's best

By W. Sean McLaughlin on August 20, 2002

Format: Paperback

This is a stunningly intense and powerful novel. The novel is written as the final confession of Nat Turner following his brutally violent slave revolt of 1831. The account is fictionalized though relies heavily on historical facts for its basis.
The novel is painfully tragic as Styron masterfully portrays Turner's existence within the deep south during slavery. Styron's novel is filled with many tragic ironies that mirror the strange logic of slavery and oppression. Turner is initially uplifted by the power of religion, but eventually uses the Bible and bizarre visions to justify his brutal revolt. Throughout the novel, Styron is even-keeled, never passing judgment on Turner, ultimately allowing the reader to come to his/her own conclusions. The novel is vivid and necessarily graphic in places as Styron depicts the harsh slave world where violence leads to more violence.
This is an important novel to read, for it gives important insight into how history shaped American race relations. Styron caught a lot of flak for writing this book (he is Caucasian), but ultimately, I believe his detractors are closed minded. His portrayal is simply stunning, and you needn't be white or black to understand Nat Turner's plight, but merely be a human.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Heads of Plantations Lose Theirs: Nat Left Hangin!!

Author employs in media res effectively as reader gets Nat Turner's side of the story. Nat gives a fast moving account of his life and times leading up to his murderous rebellion. Read more

Published 6 hours ago by james donnelly

Nat Turner a great read

A beautiful book. Styron obviously put much thought and effort into the writing of this book, and it doesn't disappoint.

Published 2 days ago by Elizabeth

Five Stars

A must Read!

Published 5 days ago by Kindle Customer

Good

Published 8 days ago by Daphne A Miles

“The Confessions of Nat Turner” William Styron, 1966 Compelling ...

“The Confessions of Nat Turner” William Styron, 1966
Compelling is the word that comes to mind. Read more

Published 20 days ago by Bill Allen

It was really like this then......

For someone raised in the South like me, it was a tremendously powerful and insightful experience, revealing the reality of this dark and sad time in the history of our country.

Published 26 days ago by Wendy Adams

Five Stars

A triumph. Styron is a formidable talent.

Published 1 month ago by Sherif El Newehy

Historical fact and fiction.

A beautifully written book about a very difficult time in the history of the old south. The cruelty and disregard for slaves lifes was heartbreaking as was the revolution staged by... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Loretta O'Sullivan

A bit like Faulkner, but that's a compliment

Damn good novel! Reminded me of Faulkner a little bit, with the disjointed nonlinear narrative and the heavy stream of consciousness interjections. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Foster J. Dickson

So much more than the few paragraphs we read in text books.

I thought this was a really well written novel. It's based on a true account of the Nat Turner uprising, at least what is known. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer

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