Customer Reviews

The Longest Memory

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My reason for purchasing this book was that I had the author, Fred D'Aguiar, as a professor twice while I was in college. He teaches Creative Writing at the University of Miami, and is the most wonderful teacher I have ever had. My respect and admiration for him blossomed even more when I read THE LONGEST MEMORY. I have never read a book that changes point of views by chapter, but this book became one of my favorites of all time. Reading the experiences of everyone involved really brings a different perspective. I loved this book so much that I read it twice and passed it on to my mother, who especially liked the letter written to THE VIRGINIAN newspaper. Fred D'Aguiar's vivid description and emotion make this a "must-read!"

This book is not brilliant writing but it is brilliant in its ability to shed light on the various attitudes towards slavery in Virginia in the late 1700's and early 1800's. One hears the voices of a slave whom maintains his dignity in spite of his position, of an overseer to fathers a child with a young slave, of a plantation owner whose views lead him to act with kindness towards his slaves to his social detriment, of the owner's daughter who dreams of emancipation of slaves ... each responding to the life and death of an intelligent young slave with dreams of being a poet. The net result is a book that allows one insight into the institution of slavery - the mindset that permits a master/slave relationship; that shows the economic forces that weakened the value of slavery and helped percipitate the events leaading up to the Civil War.

This is not a book that you will easily forget - rather it is one that forces one to consider the interrelationships between people - past or present.

D'Aguiar's novel 'The Longest Memory' is both a heartwrenching emotional rollercoaster ride and significant historical account of the brutal slave system of a bygone era.

D'Aguiar weaves a compelling tale told from the perspective of the drama's protagonists. Although this text is not a play, it provides the reader with vignettes that convey the deep dark secrets of slave owner, overseer, lover and slave. We are compelled through 200 years if hindsight, to see if our "predictions" are correct. D'Aguiar does not disappoint, the destruction of a runaway slave only adds to burning need for slavery during the 1700's to be abolished.

If 'The Longest Memory' does not arouse the stirrings of condemnation for the destruction of humanity through acts fuelled by racism, then this novel is not for you.

Indeed, as an Australian, the experience of American slavery is not far away from the destruction of our own Aboriginal people that were lulled into an idle existence, one that was forged out for them by their white Colonial rulers.

It's time to wake up from the stupor of racism and ebrace one another. It is only through the memory of past mistakes that we can enjoy a trully liberating future! D'Aguiar's - The Longest Memory - ensures we will not forget.

This book in a number of different narratives in different styles and by different characters follows the life on a plantation of a family of slaves, the title refering to an old guy who's lived there almost all his life (was bought from Africa when he was 10), and has outlived most of his descendants. The book is hard to get into, and confusing the first time you read it, you really need to read it once to come to terms with what's going on, then again to gain the full impact of the writing style. D'Aguiar is obviously a brilliant writer, competent in many different styles, but I had to read the book in English class and didn't enjoy it in the slightest, due to the amount of picking done on it, and the fact that I am not even remotely interested in the history of another country when I've never even fully been taught my own. But if black culture and its development, and the impact and atrocities of slavery interest you, then this is a brilliant book (and I'd give it 5 stars, in that case).

This was a very interseting insight into the 18th century and the views on slavery and racism. The book is beautifully written and keeps the reader interested. I recomend it to all ages and read it twice. As I studied it in year 12 I found it my main peice come exam time and a great tribute to my end of year results.

The setting is antebellum Virginia, and the plot centers on one despicable incident. A young male slave attempts to run away, is quickly apprehended, and dies in the process of being punished. The structure of the narrative works superbly; in 13 sections, various individuals involved in the young slave's life speak their piece. We hear from, among other persons, his adoptive father, the senior slave on the plantation, who grieves but tries to numb himself as a way of coping with the situation; the plantation owner, who is benevolent to a degree but to whom slaves still represent property; the plantation overseer, who carries out the beating; the cook in the big house, mother of the runaway; and the daughter of the master, who taught the slave to read and by her association with him engendered his flight to freedom. The inhumanity of slavery has not been so achingly understood or expressed so beautifully since Toni Morrison's very disturbing Beloved , and no fiction collection can do without it.

Well, it is actually amazing that I was forced to read this book in a class and I actually liked it. For one, usually any book a teacher thinks the students will like, nine times out of ten won't, and so, like the reviewer before me: this book took me by surprise. Even after delving into all of the stylistic devises used by the author and analysing the book to death (Which is usually what turns people off reading a book in class) I was amazed to discover that I still liked this book. It's definetely worth a read, and I strongly hope (again, like the reviewer before me) that the author writes more great novels like this one.

This book took me totally by surprise. I finished reading it in a few hours, but it's been two weeks since I finished, and I'm still mulling things over in my mind. It doesn't explain slavery, not how it affected those who were slaves nor those who perpetuated it. But this wonderful writer wakes you up to the subtleties.

Well, interesting. I wouldn't say it was the most captivating book, but it had an amazing story line. Hard to get into, and also noticed a few mistakes. 1) Chapter called Grand Daughter in the contents, called Grand Mother on the chapter page. 2)The editorial chapter's dates reverse, so either this is deliberate for some strange reason, or the proof readers stuffed it up.

Anyway, send me any suggestions regarding the date stuff up.

Thisbookis about a slaves\/ the narroter did not tell his name