This is the story of a young black slave in the southern USA in the 1800's. The genre is 'Literary Fiction' and is historically accurate, but the characters and scenarios are fiction. The girl was born to two mulattoes and ended up with rather light skin which helped her to gain her freedom, or so she thought. Her entire existence is dedicated to being free and she has scars to prove that she has attempted escape a few times. An unexpected opportunity arises when she is mistaken as a white 'Lady' and thus, she embarks on a sham that turns out to be bit nasty in the end. In the meanwhile she marries her true love, a very black field worker. Oh what a tangled web we weave!
The story is interesting and written in an artsy style that sometimes leaves the reader wondering what he or she has just read. The author needs to polish her style a bit in this regard. The other characters in the story, and there are many of them, are interesting.
In the epilogue, the author states that her own great grandmother escaped her owners and lived in the northern USA the rest of her life, as a white person, which demonstrates that her premise is not without precedent. Slavery is a fascinating chapter in North American history, as is its aftermath. Books like 'The Loom' help us to understand those history changing times.
3 1/2 stars
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