Customer Reviews

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: or, Gustavus Vassa, the African (Modern Library Classics)

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Of all the firsthand accounts known to us as "slave narratives," Vassa's description is unique in many ways. To begin with, he takes his readers all the way back to his African roots, shedding historically-confirmed light on almost lost ancient traditions. His discussion of the harrowing and epically sad capture and separation of he and his sister are among the most moving in this genre.

He then describes the despicable, inhumane conditions in the holds of the slave ships with a "you-are-there" writing style. Again, confirmed by other sources, these are some of the most often quoted accounts in historical texts. In this same chronological phase, Vassa also depicts the shared empathy among the enslave Africans, helping us to see how they collaborated to survive.

His ongoing narrative offers one of the more balanced looks at slavery. Vassa clearly tells the horrors of this evil system and the people responsible for it. At the same time, he often shares accounts of Europeans and White Americans who befriended him. In fact, his positive statements about non-Africans lend further credence to his critique of the many evils of slavery.

His narrative also contains unique elements in his descriptions of his path toward freedom and his life as a freeman. We learn that in his era, for a man of his race, it was barely more tolerable to be free, given the hatred that he still endured.

Though some reviewers tend to minimize or criticize it, his conversion narrative is classic. In fact, it may well have been the standard from which later testimonies were crafted about how "God struck me dead." Perhaps the evangelical nature of his conversion turns off some. However, if we are to engage Vassa in his other accounts, we must engage him here. Further, coming as it did later in his life, it is easy to see how his account of his entire life is entirely shaped by his conversion experience. Clearly, Vassa sees even the evils that he has suffered as part of a larger plan. In doing so he never suggests that God condones the evils of slavery. Rather, he indicates that God created beauty from ashes.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction," and of "Soul Physicians" and "Spiritual Friends."

If I could recommend a particular edition of the "Interesting Narrative," it would be the Penguin Classics revised 2003 edition. I much preferred it to this one. The Penguin edition has far more explanatory and textual notes, and it includes many letters Equiano wrote. (Which the Modern Library edition does not do.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It does not speak as much about slavery as I thought and speaks a lot about ship life. There is a wonderful chapter on his faith. I recommend this book to those who desire to know about life during the late 1700's especially for a black man.

Saw the wonderful movie Amazing Grace & this man was a part of the real history of that time & wanted to read more. Excellant transaction. Thanks

I can't help but think there's some bit of embellishing on the part of Equiano here, which calls the veracity of everything into question.

As a semi-fictional account of a freed slave at that point in history, it's an interesting book, I suppose.

There are probably more interesting and inspiring books related to Olaudah, Wilburforce, and the entire Abolitionist movement, although after reading this and a sub-average book on William Wilburforce, I lost steam on the topic.

Get yourself a DVD of Amazing Grace, accept it at face value, and don't slog through Equiano's work in a tedious exercise of cross-checking facts, that quite frankly makes you look terribly pedantic, fella.