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Washington Black
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
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Washington Black
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Summary
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2018
When two English brothers take the helm of a Barbados sugar plantation, Washington Black - an 11-year-old field slave - finds himself selected as personal servant to one of these men. The eccentric Christopher 'Titch' Wilde is a naturalist, explorer, scientist, inventor and abolitionist whose single-minded pursuit of the perfect aerial machine mystifies all around him.
Titch's idealistic plans are soon shattered, and Washington finds himself in mortal danger. They escape the island together, but then then Titch disappears and Washington must make his way alone, following the promise of freedom further than he ever dreamed possible.
From the blistering cane fields of Barbados to the icy wastes of the Canadian Arctic, from the mud-drowned streets of London to the eerie deserts of Morocco, Washington Black teems with all the strangeness and mystery of life. Inspired by a true story, Washington Black is the extraordinary tale of a world destroyed and made whole again.
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What listeners say about Washington Black
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Buttercup dormouse
- 06-04-20
Profoundly moving
An epic story beautifully performed, deeply moving and constantly interesting . I’m off to buy her other books
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2 people found this helpful
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- 11thman
- 08-11-19
Elegant, sad, important
It’s always a pleasure to immerse yourself in a beautifully written story. I suspect it will stay with me for a few days
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ele
- 30-08-20
Absolutely superb
A fairly intense start, so be warned.
Beautifully written, wonderful characterisation, riveting storyline. Science and fantasy in a fascinating mix.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- S. Peacock
- 09-06-21
What a fascinating book and fantastic journey
This was an impulse purchase bought as part of an Audible 2 for 1 deal alongside Ducks, Newburyport. The contrast between the two could not be more stark, Washington Black leaves you with nothing but empathy for it's characters, no matter how flawed, while Ducks, Newburyport leaves you with nothing but loathing for it's characters.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- liz
- 06-03-22
Wonderful wonderful listen
This book is so beautiful and awful and completely absorbing I finished it awhile back and it……they have stayed with me
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs M.
- 22-01-20
Good story
Good story, disappointing ending, but most irritating narration - spoke really fast had trouble understanding it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- TONI SCOTT
- 17-10-21
thought provoking
black/white, parent/child, master/slave relationships of the Island of my birth. now need to find truth
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mary J. Bryce
- 02-02-19
A story of mental emancipation.
Having read Half Blood Blues, I was prepared for another extraordinary novel from a writer whose power to evoke the past seems effortless. I was drawn to this new book especially because I live in Barbados and the first part is set on a plantation there. But I also wanted to see what she would do with the theme of slavery, one which is so hard to do justice to without invoking stereotypes and easy guilt. In fact, the first section of the novel doesn't stint on horror, but the narrative doesn't lean on this. It quickly becomes a personal story, told entirely from the point of view of the protagonist, Washington, an enchanting child when we first meet him, disoriented by the inexplicable kindness of Titch, his master's brother, visiting from England, who takes him on as an assistant in his scientific experiments. It is, therefore, the story of an anomaly - a slave who is singled out and given the chance to develop his innate intelligence and talent, and ultimately to become a visionary scientist himself. This sounds romantic but it isn't: the role of science in the nineteenth century is shown to be one of liberation for many different kinds of people - from a disaffected younger brother, to an unconventional young woman, to Washington himself. innovations that we take for granted - like flight, or photography - were farfetched dreams in the 1830s, and the people who dreamed them viewed as eccentric or mad. Washington's relationship with Titch, the spine of the novel, goes through stages from hero-worship to betrayal to loss and anger, reaching, eventually, a plane of understanding and acceptance. It's the great achievement of this novel that ultimately it's about an individual's journey to self-knowledge and the understanding that he is not, as he thought, the centre of the universe, however urgent his own concerns might be. The relationship of Titch and Washington, strange and unconventional though it is, is thus revealed to be at heart a father-son relationship, one that all sons, and all fathers, must negotiate in their own way. The writing is always wonderful, and at times transcendent. A thrilling read.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Nicky D
- 22-03-19
Fantastic
I loved this story - the characters, the writing, the narrator - everything about it was just perfect. And what an incredible narrator, I'll be looking out for more of his work.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Chandra Kumar
- 05-09-19
Excellent
Great story, very well narrated. Captivating from the very start.
It would be helpful to have a text copy alongside to understand some of the speech from the characters in the plantation. Also the Scottish accent isn’t the best!
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1 person found this helpful