A Review By Zoe at Warwick Books
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize of 2010, this novel is set in Jamaica in the early 1800s. It is presented in the style of a mother and son writing the mother’s autobiography. Set in the plantation of Amity before the Baptist War; we follow the tale of July, born of a slave mother and her unpleasant white overseer. Whilst out walking to the town with her mother as a young child, July catches the eye of her newly arrived mistress- Caroline Mortimer, who is so enraptured by July that she insists on taking her away from her mother there and then, and keeping her in the main house as a maid.
This was an interesting read with some very powerful points beyond the cruelty of slavery, one point which felt very poignant was that July, along with other women, longed to be paler skinned so she could enter mulatto society, go to dances and meet white men and have pale children. The most interesting aspect, in my opinion, is that Levy portrays the slaves as not being overly fearful of their master. They are afraid of their situation, but they are not awed by their masters. Using real diaries of plantation owners as her influence, Levy depicts the Amity plantation slaves as surly, they enjoy playing on the prejudices and fears of their masters and there are humorous moments where the characters sit talking together or dozing off whilst Caroline Mortimer calls ceaselessly for from them upstairs.
The only disappointment to this novel, for me, was Levy’s writing style. The mother and son adding their thoughts, and embellishing the tale felt a little disjointed to me and interrupted the flow of the book just too much. I didn’t feel that this technique added a great amount to the story, but other readers may well prefer it to a solely straight-forward telling of a life-story.
This was a good read, should be enjoyed by anyone who likes Andrea Levy, or enjoyed reading “The Help” last summer. It would also be perfect for book groups as it helpfully includes “bonus material” at the back of the book for reading groups!
