Harriet Tubman has always been a hero of mine. She was incredibly brave and self-sacrificing in her quest to help fellow slaves escape to the North. I enjoyed the excerpt I read and plan on buying the book when it comes out.
By using an omniscient narrator to let us peek into Harriet's inner thoughts, we get a fuller idea of who Harriet was as well as the time period she lived in. That, added to the use of dialect and good descriptions, did well to create a world that most people in the US have at least a cursory knowledge of, while giving it greater depth and tangibility. Giving slaves names, rather than leaving them in the abstract, makes what they suffered through real and relatable. Imagining a mother glancing back at her child as they are separated forever is a lot more emotional than dry knowledge that slavery separated families.
If this had been a book about someone else, I would have still liked our hero. Harriet is likable, direct and self-aware. I would still want to buy the book. The pacing in the excerpt leaves me confident that once we get into the meat of the story, it will be a thrill ride I won't want to miss.
By using an omniscient narrator to let us peek into Harriet's inner thoughts, we get a fuller idea of who Harriet was as well as the time period she lived in. That, added to the use of dialect and good descriptions, did well to create a world that most people in the US have at least a cursory knowledge of, while giving it greater depth and tangibility. Giving slaves names, rather than leaving them in the abstract, makes what they suffered through real and relatable. Imagining a mother glancing back at her child as they are separated forever is a lot more emotional than dry knowledge that slavery separated families.
If this had been a book about someone else, I would have still liked our hero. Harriet is likable, direct and self-aware. I would still want to buy the book. The pacing in the excerpt leaves me confident that once we get into the meat of the story, it will be a thrill ride I won't want to miss.