Slave Man
Contents:
He wants to be my domestic. As in as in down on his hands and knees, cleaning my toilets and floors and whatever else I want him to do. Oh, and he wants to do it for free, whenever I want, wearing whatever I want him to wear. And while he scrubs away, I can do whatever I please whether that means taking a nap, talking on the phone, or putting my feet up and watching him clean.
Todd, though unaware of his state, is considered a man slave by many women due to his submissive behaviors when in their presence. TO-DAY, as never before, the man of science is faced with the problem of the relation of science and society. Science is a powerful weapon for evil as well as.
Now I've heard of men who enjoy being submissive to women. I said heard of, not gone out with. And having been a submissive myself to a Dominant after my divorce , I understand that submissiveness can involve a variety of tasks and roles chores weren't part of mine! Still, his offer totally caught me off guard. He looked like he should be off fighting fires or operating a bull dozer, not delicately polishing my shoes His giant shoulders leaned into the table and he said, almost pleadingly.
I think most women would. I don't want you feel indebted to me. You have to believe that me cleaning your toilets is my role. Even if I don't enjoy it, you're the boss. If I don't do it good enough, you're entitled to make me redo it until it's up to your standards. The old slave's narrative changes from 3rd person to 1st person in the middle of a paragraph on p. The old man's story changes point of view from 3rd person to 1st person on p. See 2 questions about The Old Slave….
Lists with This Book. Lovers of Caribbean Literature. Slave Old Man is unlike anything I have ever read before. This man remembers the voyage from Africa, the horrors on the ship, the years of work. Now he will run. And with that this short novel becomes a fever dream, a magical and horror filled journey into a primeval place, the Great Woods.
The writing is not linear in the same way Slave Old Man is unlike anything I have ever read before. The writing is not linear in the same way that this journey is not straight. It twists and turns, soars and plunges along with old man. It is also scattered throughout with words in French or Creole and English approximations.
There are also notes on some major terms at the end of the book, as well as a brief history of Martinique and information on the author, including his purpose and process in his writing. This was a different and exciting reading experience for me. As for me, I intend to find more from this author. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
View all 8 comments. The slave old man, whose real name was lost long ago, has lived out his days on this sugar plantation in Martinique, apathetic and virtually invisible. One morning he does not report to his job because he has run off into the Great Woods to try to escape from slavery. He is pursued by his master who "clothes his absolute power in white linen, and a pith helmet gives him the allure of a conquistador fallen from a fold in time". He has a mastiff used to hunt down fugitive slaves.
Ironically, the m The slave old man, whose real name was lost long ago, has lived out his days on this sugar plantation in Martinique, apathetic and virtually invisible. Ironically, the mastiff had undergone the same sea voyage and abuse as the slaves and now " My favorite part of the book was the end, when the mastiff and the slave old man finally face each other. However, the book was tough going for me before that point.
Martinique Creole and creolized French words were left intact in this translation. That's not really helpful to most readers if comprehensibility and readability were goals. There are endnotes that explain these terms, but it's disruptive to check them while you are reading the book. I kept thinking that I should like this book, but it was so hard to read that it really took too much effort. The author's writing style is incredibly dense, poetic and hallucinatory. I admit that I am not a fan of magical realism, but even for that genre, this book seemed way over the top.
This was certainly an interesting subject and I realize that some reviewers think this author has exceptional gifts, but I wouldn't read another book by him if you paid me. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
A truly special book. By that point, I was already pretty intrigued by him: Stowe cannot approach; because it tells the story to the eye. Chamoiseau and his translator, Linda Coverdale, talk about what literature means for a largely oral culture where native and colonial languages intersect. It the original version, it is a weaving of Creole, French and lost indigenous languages.
For those readers who love the power of prose, Slave Old Man is an astounding achievement — exhilarating, hallucinatory, primal, electrifying, and just plain delicious. The forest becomes almost mythical: This is an archetypal tale, and the slave comingles with the history of slavery, all the bones that bear witness and lie there, bleached out, ready to surrender their tales. The final few pages of the story are stunning in their power.
Recommended for those who enjoy erudite and aesthetic novels. The prose is poetic and can actually be challenging to follow when the Old Man begins to hallucinate during his run through the woods. This is a story about a slave fleeing a plantation with a deadly hound at his heels, but most of the turmoil and conflict takes place within the minds of the slave and his master. Both are forced to come to terms with their past and by the end of the story are markedly different as a result of those reflections. The mastiff is a wonderful metaphor.
In case the reader misses it, the final chapter explains the significance of the dog as well as why the old man finally decides to run. Told in poetic, challenging and often hallucinatory prose, Slave Old Man is a powerful read. Slave Old Man follows an escaped slave as he is chased through the jungles of Martinique by a devilish hound and his master.
As the old man runs deeper into the forest, h Told in poetic, challenging and often hallucinatory prose, Slave Old Man is a powerful read. As the old man runs deeper into the forest, he is also driven deeper into his past. As he dives deeper into the forest and deeper into his past, he begins to find himself and find his voice. In the eerie and lush forest, the master and the hound are also forced to undergo transformations of their own.
This is a book that demands a re-read.
There are so many layers to explore. I loved this book, but I am also certain that plenty of it went over my head. I am already looking forward to experiencing it again. Slave Old Man is both a searing look at the horrors of slavery and a beautiful celebration of Martinique and Creole culture.
Thank you so much to The New Press for sending me a copy to review. I feel lucky to have read it. It felt mythical, biblical. I had some initial trouble getting into it: The language and word choice so many alliterations! I think some of that was also from the French - English translation: But with I loved it.
I finished chapter 6 at the end of my bath, and it was so powerful and impactful. Picking it up later that night, Chapter 7 and the afterword were a bit of a letdown. But those are just quibbles. On the surface, Slave Old Man by Patrick Chamoiseau, translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale, is a straightforward story of the struggles of an old slave as he escapes from a Martinique plantation. Chased by a vicious dog and his master, the slave enters a lush rain forest where nature runs rampant, providing fodder for hallucinations and wild imaginings.
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But this is anything but a straightforward story. One could argue it is not really a story at all but a thrilling piece of lyr On the surface, Slave Old Man by Patrick Chamoiseau, translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale, is a straightforward story of the struggles of an old slave as he escapes from a Martinique plantation.
One could argue it is not really a story at all but a thrilling piece of lyrical poetry. The sheer energy and lyricism of the language propels the story forward, embroiling the reader in the lushness of its diction while immersing us in the plushness of the rain forest. The narrative is gripping, fast-paced, and dense. As the elderly slave breathlessly runs, twists, and turns in this wild terrain, his mind hallucinates with twists and turns.
His journey deep into the forest is transformative, triggering a journey deep into his past. The reader is swept up in a wave with no sure footing as to what is happening. The journey is archetypal. The forest assumes mythical proportions, housing monsters, mysteries, and secrets older than time itself.
Gordon (slave)
This book may not be for everyone. Smatterings of words in French or Creole, references that require flipping to the Notes at the end of the book, prose that is lyrical and non-linear, and the juxtaposition of the real with the imaginary make it a challenging read. But it is a worthwhile read for anyone who enjoys being swept up by exhilarating prose with an electrifying, haunting quality. With advance praise from Derek Walcott, I reveled in this masterpiece that delivers a vivid meditation on the degradation of the human spirit at the hands of colonialist white terrorism!
Then hating him again. Then wondering how old he is. Then treating him the way one treats wretches from whom one no longer expects anything. I was not sure what to think before starting, but the translation has been done beautifully. The story itself grips you and does not let go—I ended up reading it in a day! Powerful, hearing the voice of the old man slave who in essence had been denied a voice throughout his subjugation and degradation as a slave on a Martinican plantation.
Something that everyone should read. This was a 4. Patrik Chamoiseau has written this novel with his heart and plenty of knowledge of historical facts. However, I would guess that not only for me, but also for many other readers, there is too much of everything in the book: The escape of the old slave into magic wood and the following chase by master and his dog are too Patrik Chamoiseau has written this novel with his heart and plenty of knowledge of historical facts.
The escape of the old slave into magic wood and the following chase by master and his dog are too much prolonged and become boring, in spite of its symbolism. Also the combination of three languages English, French and Creole makes sometimes understanding more difficult and slows done the action and reading.
Obviously, there is no doubt that the topic is of great importance even today, the wounds have not been healed. The duality of the situation, both for the slave and the master are emblematic of the struggle that many countries and people have with their own histories in the present day: Perhaps most important in this story is the brutality — the never-ending horrors that were a part of the systems that kept people as less than human, and the very real horrors and dangers in the jungle, and why those are preferable to the older slave than existing in the life he was born into.
These voices, subjugated, demeaned, and buried under layers of histories written from the perspective of the powerful, those in charge and perhaps struggling to stay at the pinnacle are the real moments in history that need to be heard for things to change. I was not compensated for this review: Review first appeared at I am, Indeed Aug 07, Nina rated it it was amazing Shelves: I really liked this book.
I thought the choices the author made were interesting, and the translation had a cadence that made the novel a pleasure to read. If you have an interest in colonialism and interesting subversion of old colonial narratives, you may like it.
Should I Let a Man Be My Domestic Slave?
The writing is very immersive in that the landscape is almost a c I really liked this book. The tense is in third person but shifts to first person for the slave old man about halfway through the book.
Set in the island of Martinique, I think? It sounds like it is still a French colony. A short and engaging read telling the story of an escaped slave in Martinique and the hound and master that pursue him. Told with beautiful prose that embraces the local Creole and maintains it through its translation. The use of end notes were not only helpful in providing context to those unfamiliar with Martinique's history, but were employed as story telling tools that added richness to the overall narrative.
I will definitely read more from this author in the future. One of the strangest and most beautiful novellas I have ever read—the prose is dense and the narrative voice hard to place. I will read more by this writer. The prose of Chamoiseau was transporting. This tale follows the story of an elderly slave escaping his master into the forest in hot pursuit by the hound kept as a guard dog by the slave owner.
A short read, but endlessly powerful and sure to become a quick classic, this is a must-read. I was taken to another plane by the beautiful and descriptive imagery by Chamoiseau. Kudos must also go to the translator, Linda Coverdale who brought this beautiful story to li Descriptive, powerful, enchanting. Kudos must also go to the translator, Linda Coverdale who brought this beautiful story to life from the original French and Creole and made it shine in English as well.
I would not be surprised to travel a few years into the future and find this story to be required reading for some English classes, it is just that good.
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This book was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I very much wish I could read this in French. I liked it well enough in English, but I feel like I missed out. This is a book where one might benefit from subtleties of language and I don't know if I caught everything that went on. This seems like a book you could teach a whole class on, so thick is it with allusion, history, and myth.
I've read novels with glossaries before, but never one where each entry seems like it could give rise, fractal-like, to other stories, and then others again. The history of Martinique is fraught and complex, and Chamoiseau has distilled from it an apparently simple story where meaning stirs beneath every phrase.
The translator's accomplishment is nearly as striking, in giving us a book that This seems like a book you could teach a whole class on, so thick is it with allusion, history, and myth. The translator's accomplishment is nearly as striking, in giving us a book that elegantly balances the demands of Creole, French, and English, and remains a compelling read to boot. Can you imagine being a slave, on an island, escaping? Where do you go?
Gordon (slave) - Wikipedia
The story gives one a feeling of being with the slave step by step. I highly recommend reading Slave Old Man. Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for a copy. Unreal, teeming, mysterious, vibrant. A truly special book. Don't worry too much about understanding everything. Read it like poetry - listen to the sound and the rhythm
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