"'I do hate niggers,' Honoria said quietly to Frances as the men talked across the table. 'I wonder how you can bear to teach them. I won't have them near me.'"From A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory, page 151:
"'I could just beat them, ma'am.' John offered. 'That's what we always did in Jamaica. Beat them till they were quiet.'"
There are so many great lines in this book, but none of them in isolation will really give you a feel for this novel. While I'd been looking forward to reading it, I didn't expect the overwhelming sense of sadness that reading this book gives me. I've watched movies about the slave trade and have been touched, but there is nothing to compare with the ability to use your own sense of indignation and imagination to pull together from the pages of a book. I weep nearly constantly reading this one and it's exhausting, but very much worth it.
I'd like to take this opportunity to let you know that I'm going to be going out of town from tomorrow until, I imagine, next Tuesday. I may be able to make posts, but it's unlikely that I will have time to do a lot of commenting during this upcoming week. Please don't be offended if I'm not around much, or miss me. I'll be back!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Very sad teasers! Here is my teaser for this week.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a tough book to read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting today.
Lorin: It is a very difficult book to read, but it is very interesting as well. Emotionally I need to take breaks because I'm constantly crying. It really does bring it all home and I don't know that I will ever look at black people (of any ancestry) the same again. For me, at least, this book is making things make sense in ways that they didn't before.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good thing, for me at least.
Brings to life the reality slaves faced in during the slave trade.
ReplyDeletehttp://lacey914.blogspot.com/2010/05/teaser-tuesday-flip-open-to-random-page.html#comments
check mine out!!
Yes, Lacey! That it is *exactly*.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is a chilling teaser!
ReplyDeleteFind mine here:
http://subtlemelodrama.blogspot.com/2010/05/teaser-tuesday-04-may.html
Have you read Philippa Gregory before? I just got The Other Boleyn Girl, but I don't know when I will get a chance to read it.
ReplyDeleteAww, very sobering teasers...sad!
ReplyDeleteHowever did I miss this one? I thought I had read all her novels. I am off to remedy tis. Excellent teaser. My TT: http://www.rundpinne.com/2010/05/teaser-tuesdays-sea-witch.html
ReplyDeleteJulie: Yes, I've read The Other Boleyn Girl and also have The Boleyn Inheritance and The Constant Princess on my TBR list. I've also signed up to receive the blogger pack for The Red Queen. I like her a lot. Not necessarily a (consistent) 5 star author (by my standards, which are different than many, since a 5 star is a virtual masterpiece of literature), but definitely an enjoyable read.
ReplyDeleteHere's my review of The Other Boleyn Girl.
I'm a fan of Phillipa Gregory, for the most part. This was a great teaser, but I have Constant Princess and Red Queen on my TBR ahead of these.
ReplyDeleteI have stopped keeping an ordered list. I pick what sounds good at the time lol
ReplyDeleteThis one is a goodie though!
From these teasers, I can already understand why you weep, reading this book.
ReplyDeleteThank you for dropping by mine. :)
This is a very thought-provoking teaser. Thanks for sharing it! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat teaser! I don't have my teaser posted yet, but you have an award on my blog here.
ReplyDelete