Reviews

• 150 pages of horror history

  "Though the word [nigger] might not have been quite as controversial when the book was written in 1973, it was problematic enough. But who could have ever dreamed that fifty years later the word would become even more toxic? [...] My feelings about it are rooted in my walks to school through segregated Flint, Michigan, where, as a junior high student, my siblings and I were liberally peppered with the slur. [...] The Slave Dancer is not an easy book to read. It is unsettling, unnerving, and unapologetic in its blunt presentation of an incredibly difficult subject. [...] The book remains both a major literary accomplishment and a major act of courage on the part of Paula Fox. I am proud to know I am in the same profession as she. Christopher Paul Curtis 2016" (Intro - Kindle edition).

• The Slave Dancer

  Jessie is 13yrs his mother sewed to keep the family from the poor house, they had one room which was very damp and lived in a town called New Orleans, although told not to by his mother Jessie often went to the slave market, one day his mother was sewing a fine garment when she sent Jessie to borrow more candles from his Aunt Agatha, he was on his way home when a canvas was thrown over his head and he was tied, he passed out and knew nothing more until he woke and found himself on a raft with two men, they then walked a long way to reach a small boat, in the distance a sailing ship The Moonlight, soon Jessie was on deck, the men who grabbed him were Claudius and Purvis who told him he would be at sea for four months, their boy had run away and Jessie was needed to play his pipe, he found out they were sailing to the Bight of Benin, Africa Jessie was taken to the Captain and told they would purchase slaves from the Barracuda in Whydah and return via the island of Sao Tome to Cuba where the slaves would be sold, the ship would return with molasses, a man called Stout showed him his hammock and where to go to the toilet, this was over a grating with two ropes to hold on to, it took a few days to get used to the hammock, first moring he needed the loo and closed his eyes as he hung on to the ropes, Purves and four men seemed to be amused watching him, Jessie was only used to women and found it strange to be around men, the Captain called him Bollweavil, after three weeks cook was preparing a large cauldron, gratings were put over the hold and Cooley worked on a whip, Purvis was whipped for stealing an egg Stout had taken, we anchored at Whyah, there was fire on shore , the British had attacked Barracuda and the slaves had escaped The British were anti slavery and a ship was watching us, Captain Cawthorne ran up and down the coast until he had a chance to load slaves, three days we sat in sight of land, I was told to put buckets in the hold for the slaves toilets, they kept loading slaves, two dead ones were thrown overboard, they were given horse beans and half a pint of water a day, a little girl was dead and she was thrown over, a boy of my age made eye contact with me, we now had 100 slaves, one of my duties was to empty the toilet buckets My purpose for being on board was to play my pipe while the blacks were forced to dance to keep them healthy, only women and children were not in chains, most were naked, Jessie was ashamed to see the women, as the voyage continued a black women has the fever and is thrown overboard alive, black children were allowed to roam the deck, the young black boy was still watching him, many more dead blacks were thrown overboard, a black man is almost flogged to death after attacking Spark, Spark was tied and thrown overboard for shooting a valuable black, the story when they reach Cuban waters, the Spanish flag was raiised, this was where the slaves would be sold but they are seen by a British ship closing fast, all trace of slaves had to be removed, slaves were being thrown overboard alive, the children last, what the follows is Jessie's battle to escape with the black boy A good storyline, well written and a good read, beware of the use of racism within this book, this is obviously due to the type and era of the story and the time the book was written

• Amazing read for children

  I homeschool, and my 4th and 6th graders are studying the time of slavery in history. We purchased a Novel Study of this book on Reed Novel Studies online and worked through this book together. There were a few tough chapters, but this book captures all sides of what this sad time in history truly was very well.

• Well written, enjoyable read, bittersweet

  The horrific was once commonplace. It's good to remind ourselves occasionally, to maintain a steady course toward global human rights and respect for both life and the quality thereof. Though arguably less pervasive today, sadly the horror continues for many.

• Beautiful writing about a devastating chapter in American history.

  Just finished _The Slave Dancer_ by Paula Fox, a novel about a young American boy who gets kidnapped by sailors to play music on a slave ship. They first sail to Benin to pick up their “cargo” and then sail to Cuba. During the voyage, we learn about the cruel realities of slavery. The book is set between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War in a time when slavery was legal in the US, but the slave trade wasn't. The writing is beautiful and when my third grade teacher read this book out loud to our class, our whole class begged her to keep reading every time she wanted to stop! My son (9) gave it 7/10. He enjoyed it but liked _My Brother Sam is Dead Better_. My daughter (6) gave it 5/5.

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