Solomon Northup was a Mulatto, (first generation offspring of a black and a white) a successful businessman, a husband and father, a musician, and a freeman living in New York state. This is his memoir of how he was kidnapped in Washington DC and sold into slavery in the deep south.
Solomon is very articulate and depicts his circumstances both as free and slave, in a very compelling way. As the story progresses, the reader gets angry at the injustice of it all, and the inability of Solomon to right the great wrong that has been done to him. One can only be amazed at the discrepancy between Christian faith and Christian action by some of the characters, but, fortunately, not all of them. I was so strongly reminded of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' which I read recently. There is a similarity, and, of course, a common theme that runs through both books.
The story has a brisk pace, and is so well written that one would almost think it was written in our modern day, but was actually written by Solomon upon his return to his family in 1853.
A most enjoyable and enlightening read which I highly recommend and deserves
5 stars.
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