I consulted my well-read family for novels that spoke about dehumanization, and was given a list of authors including Pearl Buck, Michael Ondaatje, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker and Patrick Conroy. I also looked at 'What Should I Read Next 'resource and looked at novels similar to Book of Negroes. Below is my finalized list of possible ISU novels in order of preference, and below the titles are descriptions of the novels and their relativity to Book of Negroes.
1) The Color Purple –Alice Walker
A novel written in 1982 following the story of a 14 year old
African-American woman living in Georgia. She writes letters to God of how she
is repeatedly raped and beaten by her alleged father. This novel explores the
theme of self-identity and human development and explores the impact narration
and writing has on the development one’s sense of self. This mirrors Book of
Negroes, in which Aminata is struggling with her personal identity. Similar to
Book of Negroes, The Color Purple includes the themes of racism, sexism and
dehumanization.
2) The Good Lord Bird- James McBride
A fictional novel rooted in real life slavery events and is
described as a descendent of the story ‘Huckleberry Finn’. The protagonist of
the tale is Henry Shackleford, a young escaped slave that teams up with the
abolitionist John Brown. This plot line is quite similar to that of Book of
Negroes. As this novel is so recently published, very little information on
themes is accessible, but as slavery is involved, it is more than likely that
the themes of dehumanization and racism are present within the novel. It seems
that this novel also follows the theme of self-identity, as the protagonist is
forced to dress up in drag and live in a brothel.
3) The Good Earth- Pearl Buck
This 1931 novel is the story of a family living in a
traditional chinese village before WWI. It gives the reader a glimpse into
chinese culture, similar to Book of Negroes showing life in Bayo. The Good
Earth focuses on the importance of simplicity and discusses how wealth and
power is the destroyer of traditional values. This parallels Book of Negroes’
theme of slavery and desire for wealth and power push humans to do unthinkable
things to one another.
