Review: Chained to my kindle till I finished
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 19, 2013
Right at the very beginning, the Governor could have set our heroine free. That he didn't made it a very good read. Lu Lu's story is an engaging one, told through the eyes of a girl who shouldn't have been a slave. One that could have happened. The story is multi-layered in that there are many different characters whose story is revealed in order to bring the whole novel together. Each story in itself is a peep hole into the history of the American south from both sides of the coloured divide.The issue of slavery is addressed historically through real life people and families at a period of time when the abolitionists were very vocal, so the author brings in arguments for and against the rights and wrongs of slavery. The times they collide either make you angry, or indignant, or incredibly shamed and sad or a combination.  It also details the underground rail road to freedom and the risks many took to save lives, and then culminates in the civil war. Historically, as a non-American, I found it fascinating and it kept me intrigued. I didn't find the ending a problem as did some reviewers. We knew each person's demise or future in a way that led us to cheer or feel satisfied, but not feel robbed. The way he finished saved the novel from becoming the next War & Peace! It is a good read in every sense of the word. Yes there is slave dialect, but it would sound unrealistic for a slave of the time to speak Queen's English. I commend him on his efforts to speak in different Voices - not an easy thing to do when writing a novel. Well done Tom - you've won my vote.