The Longest Memory

My reason for purchasing this book was that I had the author, Fred D'Aguiar, as a professor twice while I was in college. He teaches Creative Writing at the University of Miami, and is the most wonderful teacher I have ever had. My respect and admiration for him blossomed even more when I read THE LONGEST MEMORY. I have never read a book that changes point of views by chapter, but this book became one of my favorites of all time. Reading the experiences of everyone involved really brings a different perspective. I loved this book so much that I read it twice and passed it on to my mother, who especially liked the letter written to THE VIRGINIAN newspaper. Fred D'Aguiar's vivid description and emotion make this a "must-read!"

D'Aguiar's novel 'The Longest Memory' is both a heartwrenching emotional rollercoaster ride and significant historical account of the brutal slave system of a bygone era. D'Aguiar weaves a compelling tale told from the perspective of the drama's protagonists. Although this text is not a play, it provides the reader with vignettes that convey the deep dark secrets of slave owner, overseer, lover and slave. We are compelled through 200 years if hindsight, to see if our "predictions" are correct. D'Aguiar does not disappoint, the destruction of a runaway slave only adds to burning need for slavery during the 1700's to be abolished.If 'The Longest Memory' does not arouse the stirrings of condemnation for the destruction of humanity through acts fuelled by racism, then this novel is not for you. Indeed, as an Australian, the experience of American slavery is not far away from the destruction of our own Aboriginal people that were lulled into an idle existence, one that was forged out for them by their white Colonial rulers.It's time to wake up from the stupor of racism and ebrace one another. It is only through the memory of past mistakes that we can enjoy a trully liberating future! D'Aguiar's - The Longest Memory - ensures we will not forget.

The setting is antebellum Virginia, and the plot centers on one despicable incident. A young male slave attempts to run away, is quickly apprehended, and dies in the process of being punished. The structure of the narrative works superbly; in 13 sections, various individuals involved in the young slave's life speak their piece. We hear from, among other persons, his adoptive father, the senior slave on the plantation, who grieves but tries to numb himself as a way of coping with the situation; the plantation owner, who is benevolent to a degree but to whom slaves still represent property; the plantation overseer, who carries out the beating; the cook in the big house, mother of the runaway; and the daughter of the master, who taught the slave to read and by her association with him engendered his flight to freedom. The inhumanity of slavery has not been so achingly understood or expressed so beautifully since Toni Morrison's very disturbing Beloved , and no fiction collection can do without it.

Well, it is actually amazing that I was forced to read this book in a class and I actually liked it. For one, usually any book a teacher thinks the students will like, nine times out of ten won't, and so, like the reviewer before me: this book took me by surprise. Even after delving into all of the stylistic devises used by the author and analysing the book to death (Which is usually what turns people off reading a book in class) I was amazed to discover that I still liked this book. It's definetely worth a read, and I strongly hope (again, like the reviewer before me) that the author writes more great novels like this one.

This book took me totally by surprise. I finished reading it in a few hours, but it's been two weeks since I finished, and I'm still mulling things over in my mind. It doesn't explain slavery, not how it affected those who were slaves nor those who perpetuated it. But this wonderful writer wakes you up to the subtleties.