Frances MacKnight

A page turner of a story, but a heartrending account of the barbaric, sadistic mentality of the slave trade up to the beginning of the American Civil War. Normally I shy away from these books because of their brutality, but James felt like a book that needed to be read. And so it does by every one who harbours an opinion on racism, or none at all. It is a story of the depth of the human spirit. James rightfully desires better for himself and his family and through sheer desperation forges his own path to destiny and destination. As the story travels with James, it deals out humour, farce, culture, kindness, and a whole lot of humanity. The cruelty cannot be avoided just to spare one's delicacies. Shortlisted for the Booker prize, it is brought to the world as the incredible read that it is.