2012 Puddly Awards
 
 
Follow us on TwitterFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TumblrSubscribe to RSS

Recently Viewed clear list

Interviews | Yesterday, 2:26pm

Jill Owens: IMG Stephen Dau: The Powells.com Interview

0 comments By Jill Owens

Stephen DauStephen Dau's The Book of Jonas is a marvelous, lyrical debut that examines the effects of war on everyone involved. Dau weaves together the stories... Continue »
  1. $17.47 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Book of Jonas

    Stephen Dau 9780399158452
spacer
Free Shipping!

Ships free on qualified orders.
$14.95
New Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
2 Beaverton Featured Titles- Staff Picks
4 Burnside Literature- A to Z
2 Hawthorne Literature- A to Z
25 Local Warehouse Literature- A to Z
25 Remote Warehouse Literature- A to Z

eBook editions

Someone Knows My Name

by Lawrence Hill

Someone Knows My Name Cover

ISBN13: 9780393333091
ISBN10: 0393333094
All Product Details

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Abducted from Africa as a child and enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata Diallo thinks only of freedom-and of the knowledge she needs to get home. Sold to an indigo trader who recognizes her intelligence, Aminata is torn from her husband and child and thrown into the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan, Aminata helps pen the Book of Negroes, a list of blacks rewarded for service to the king with safe passage to Nova Scotia. There Aminata finds a life of hardship and stinging prejudice. When the British abolitionists come looking for "adventurers" to create a new colony in Sierra Leone, Aminata assists in moving 1,200 Nova Scotians to Africa and aiding the abolitionist cause by revealing the realities of slavery to the British public. This captivating story of one woman's remarkable experience spans six decades and three continents and brings to life a crucial chapter in world history.

Synopsis:

"Wonderfully written...as in the slave narratives that inspired it, language is power."--Nancy Kline, New York Times Book Review

Synopsis:

Kidnapped as a child from Africa, Aminata Diallo is enslaved in South Carolina but escapes during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan she becomes a scribe for the British, recording the names of blacks who have served the King and earned freedom in Nova Scotia. But the hardship and prejudice there prompt her to follow her heart back to Africa, then on to London, where she bears witness to the injustices of slavery and its toll on her life and a whole people. It is a story that no listener, and no reader, will ever forget. Reading group guide included.
back to top

About the Author

Lawrence Hill is the author of the novels Any Known Blood and Some Great Thing and of the nonfiction work The Deserter's Tale (with Joshua Key). He lives in Ontario, Canada.
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
old nurse, January 3, 2011 (view all comments by old nurse)
I loved the creation of the character and the historic data that was brought in. I learned a lot about the black history during the Revolutionary War and their struggles from the time they were brought here via the slave trade.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
report this comment
readerl, October 10, 2010 (view all comments by readerl)
This was an incredible book to read! Lawrence Hill has written the book from the first person experience of an African American woman starting the late 1795's in Africa and ending in the early 1800's in London. Many times I truly felt tranported to her events. She speaks with such a consistent voice - it was almost like reading an autiobiography. Based around historical events and filled in with fictionalized activities, Mr. Hill has done a wonderful job of making Meena "speak" in what seemed, to me, to be very believable age appropriate reactions. I don't know the tricks he used, but I could see her grow up in the very choices she made in difficult situations and in how she choose to react to people as she aged. There was only one chapter where I thought the story seemed to drag, but it quickly picked back up. Although he certainly could have ended the story differently, I'm glad it ended the way it did!
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
report this comment
lovingreader, December 3, 2009 (view all comments by lovingreader)
This is a book about American slavery so plain and truthful that every detail resonated with me. I was especially interested that this book, while told from the point of view of a very empathetic young enslaved woman, made it clear that the institution of slavery brutalized all who participated in it. This book was published in Canada with the title "The Book of the Negroes".
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
View all 3 comments
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780393333091
Subtitle:
A Novel
Author:
Hill, Lawrence
Publisher:
W. W. Norton & Company
Subject:
Historical - General
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
Historical
Subject:
Slavery
Subject:
Slaves -- United States.
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2008
Publication Date:
20081117
Binding:
Electronic book text in proprietary or open standard format
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
512
Dimensions:
8.22x5.54x1.27 in. .89 lbs.
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. $10.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

    Them: A Novel

    Nathan McCall 9781416554417
  2. $7.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    The Runaway Dolls

    Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin 9780786855841
  3. $16.99 New Hardcover add to wish list

    The Little Yellow Leaf

    Carin Berger 9780061452239
  4. $4.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Wednesday Wars

    Gary D Schmidt 9780547237602
  5. $5.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Harry Potter #2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2)

    J. K. Rowling 9780439064866
  6. $7.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

    J.K. Rowling 9780590353403
back to top

Related Aisles

Someone Knows My Name New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$14.95 In Stock
Product details 512 pages W. W. Norton & Company - English 9780393333091 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , "Wonderfully written...as in the slave narratives that inspired it, language is power."--Nancy Kline, New York Times Book Review
"Synopsis" by , Kidnapped as a child from Africa, Aminata Diallo is enslaved in South Carolina but escapes during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan she becomes a scribe for the British, recording the names of blacks who have served the King and earned freedom in Nova Scotia. But the hardship and prejudice there prompt her to follow her heart back to Africa, then on to London, where she bears witness to the injustices of slavery and its toll on her life and a whole people. It is a story that no listener, and no reader, will ever forget. Reading group guide included.
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...


Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.