When I first started this book, I thought that I would find the language style troublesome, as it is written in US Victorian English. However, after a few dozen pages, I became attuned to it and no longer noticed.
It is quite a short book and, to be honest, has quite a simple story. But that misses the point of the book, which is really to document the plight of slaves in the American South, the attitude of their owners (and the white people in general) and the unfortunate circumstances under which the likes of the author could find themselves thus subjugated.
The author paints a very vivid picture of his experiences and of the people and places around him. Having seen the movie, this was quite familiar to me. Some of the scenes of severe cruelty - like Patsy's beating - are very harrowing to read. However, what I found more shocking was the attitudes of the owners, who regarded the slaves as, literally, livestock. They seemingly could not empathise with them as human beings at all. This seems so ironic in a country that prided itself (still does) on its citizens' inalienable right to life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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