![]() ![]() The three accomplish this by fighting colonial powers, particularly the French, who raided villages throughout Liberia, stealing Africans for the long outlawed slave trade. The characters discover their superhuman powers of strength, longevity and invisibility on their home soil, but it is only when they converge on the African continent that they come to understand their collective and individual purpose: to liberate Africans throughout the diaspora. The story has three protagonists, Gbessa, Norman and June, hailing from the three main ports of the transatlantic slave trade - Virginia, Liberia and Jamaica. ![]() In the bottom of the deep, there is a city of stones where those ancestors linger.” I saw black bodies jump from the decks and sink like stones into the ocean below. No matter how strong I became, I could not turn the sea back. I heard people inside, though there was nothing I could do. At one point, the wind - a character in the book - says, “When ships left those shores, I followed them. Magic, ghosts, transmogrification and all manner of hauntings are as commonplace as the casual death and dismemberment of Africans. ![]() “She Would Be King” is singular for the fantastical history it purports to tell, and also for the way that history is told. Moore’s vivid characters, beguiling language and powerful subject matter engage us thoroughly. In “She Would Be King,” debut novelist Wayétu Moore spins a lush, poetic vision of the beginnings of the colony and country of Liberia. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |