Tayari's Blog: The Long Song by Andrea Levy

Posted by TayariJones on May 7, 2010 10:06 PM
Filed under News

I reviewed The Long Song by Andrea Levy for The Washington Post.

Levy's previous novel, "Small Island," is rightly regarded as a masterpiece, and with "The Long Song" she has returned to the level of storytelling that earned her the Orange Prize in 2004. Her heroine narrates the beginning of the end of slavery in Jamaica, coming to a climax with the 1831 Baptist War, when enslaved men and women fought their enslavers for 10 days. It's clear that Levy has done her research, but this work never intrudes upon the narrative, which travels at a jaunty pace. Levy's sly humor swims just under the surface of the most treacherous waters. (For example, a shocking suicide is preceded by a delightful farce.) Her refusal to reduce her characters to merely their suffering does not trivialize the experience of enslavement, but underscores the humanity of all involved.

full review here.

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There are 1 comments on "The Long Song by Andrea Levy". If you'd like to leave a comment, click here to jump down to the comments entry form.

Comment #1, by Kimajones [TypeKey Profile Page]

i just read the review in the NY Times. Excited to read her work this summer.

May 9, 2010 12:32 PM

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