Washington Black: Historic, Freedom, Humanity

Washington Black, source

Hi! Welcome back to my blog where I will be reviewing books selected from the American Library Association’s weekly planner for July 2023-December 2024. This book is for the Week of October 15-21. Here is the sixth book being reviewed:Washington Black by Eli Edugyan. 

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Washington Black is born an enslaved person in a Barbados plantation. At eleven years old, he is selected to serve as a personal servant to his master’s brother, Titch. Titch has loose beliefs in slavery, so Black is able to explore the world with him. Titch also is constructing a hot air balloon and aims to fly it all over the world. He wants to cross the Atlantic Ocean in it.

Wash was picked as an adolescent to help Titch as he weighs just enough to balance a hot air balloon. A full grown adult would weigh too much and sink the hot air balloon. In Virginia, there is a slave group moving up north to freedom and Titch offers for Black to partake in it. Black doesn’t and it’s a decision he thinks about for the rest of his life.

A plantation in Barbados, source

Titch believes in talking to Black like he is a real person, even if he treats him like a lab assistant. This hot air balloon represents symbolism too as Black hovers between freedom and slavery. While with Titch, even though his master let him leave, he is still hunted by slave catchers.

Exploring the natural world, Black gets his first taste of academia. He loves being able to complete scientific explorations and learn about the way the world interacts together. Most of their research together is in natural science.

Early hot air balloon model, source

Before Titch came along, Black only had Big Kit, an older slave who worked in the master’s kitchen. The only refuge she offered him was death as it would return their souls to their native African kingdom. The plantation they were at was called Faith, an ironic place to house slaves. They had to have faith that their circumstances would get better.

Freedom, source

I would recommend this book to someone who is interested historical fiction and science. This novel takes a slave story and analyzes it very scientifically which appeals to multiple audiences.  Washington Black earns 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion. I’m not the biggest science person, but discoveries of the eighteenth century are interesting as well as the difference between the master, the own of Faith plantation, and Titch, the brother who focused on the world around him and hot air balloons.