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Someone Knows My Name

Someone Knows My Name
aka: The Book of Negroes
by Lawrence Hill
Hardcover: Nov 2007,
512 pages.
Paperback: Nov 2008,
512 pages.

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Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Ann
A Life Journey
Lawrence Hill has crafted an incredible piece of historical fiction with the passion he obviously feels himself. He brings Aminata Diallo to life and from page one you are swept away with her as she tells her story, one you are not likely to forget.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Judy C.
Someone Knows My Name
This book starts slowly but quickly you are drawn into a tale, sometimes intriguing, sometime terrifying, of one girl's experience being captured in Africa, transported to America, experiencing the best and worst of slavery, and her ultimate quest for freedom. For those of us who live in the states, the experience of Africans who sided with the British during the Revolutionary War is a little know story. This book brings it to light and forces the reader to confront a dark period of American history and marvel at how the homeland and ancestry can motivate one to survive during the darkest of times. A really good read!

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Kristin
Someone Knows My Name
I really enjoyed this book. A historical fiction novel that was easy to read as well as intriguing. A great insight into the slave trade as well. The writer did a great job of making you feel like you were experiencing Aminata's life as it was happening. I will definitely pass the book along.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Mercedes
Someone Knows My Name
A powerful historically accurate book that brings alive the life of one woman enduring the emotional and physical hardships of slavery - written so well and so lyrically that we feel and see all she does - we are there - it is a visceral experience to read this book and I could not put it down - a true look at and experience of the human experience as it endures the unthinkable and yet retains it's humanity. It raises fascinating questions and one can see that to go against the tide is never easy but the results are world changing. This book will appeal to book clubs and older school students - as slavery is still happening today in other guises. Outstanding and beautifully written - I could not believe it was written by a man - he got into the mind and soul of the extraordinary life of Aminata. Highly recommended; a must read.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Barbara
Outstanding
This book was engaging from the very beginning and I could not put it down. The character development, descriptions and plot were all extraordinary and although long it was well-paced. It is impossible not be drawn in by the main character and narrator, Aminata.

This book provides a fresh perspective on the horrors of slavery and prejudice. Knowing historical facts is so different than reading someone's first hand account of those events (even if in the context of historical fiction). Some characters stay with you long after the book is over and Aminata is one who I won't forget.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Barbara
A Superb Tale
Hill's book is a powerful story of Aminata Diallo's struggle from her young girlhood to very later life. It is a superb tale which will keep you reading, from her abduction in a remote African village, to South Carolina, to Nova Scotia, to Sierra Leone to London ..... always trying to keep her identity and finding her way back to HER culture!

I truly enjoyed this horrific journey...a woman's view of her struggle every day of her life. It would be a fantastic book for a book club to discuss, especially one containing women! It could be considered comparable to "Roots"... only I identified more with this book. The strength of the human spirit is amazingly portrayed here with fabulous descriptive language ...... you will the "there" with Aminata when reading!!
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