BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
The Long Song
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| Author | Andrea Levy |
|---|---|
| Country | America |
| Language | English |
| Subject | War |
| Genre | War |
| Set in | Jamaica |
| Published | 2010 |
| Publisher | Charnwood |
| Pages | 416 |
| Awards | Orange Prize, Notable Book of the Year, Walter Scott Prize |
| ISBN | 0-7553-5941-0 |
| OCLC | 812984161 |
The Long Song by Andrea Levy is an historical novel that was the recipient of the Orange Prize and Walter Scott Prize.
Plot summary
The Long Song is written like a memoir by an elderly Jamaican lady, living in early nineteenth century Jamaica during the end of the years of slavery and the transition into the start of freedom that took place thereafter. It tells the tale of a young slave girl, July, who lives at Amity – a sugar plantation. She went through the 1831 Baptist War, and then lived through the beginning of freedom. Her mother, Kitty, is also portrayed in it as well as the negroes working on the plantation land and the owner of the plantation – the white lady Caroline Mortimer.[1]
Themes
The themes of the book incorporate: how it feels being an immigrant Jamaican, racism, black versus white, landlord versus tenant,slavery and its abolition, slave uprisings, rape, 1831 Baptist War, the clergy and love triangles.
Acclaim
According to Kate Kellaway in The Observer, "Levy has researched the novel meticulously… Levy has a talent for crowd control, ensemble work, comic timing."[2] In a review of the book, The Boston Globe described it as: “at once defiant, funny, and shocking…leav[ing] its reader with a newly burnished appreciation for life, love, and the pursuit of both."[3]
Tayari Jones wrote: “Andrea Levy's insightful and inspired fifth novel, The Long Song, reminds us that she is one of the best historical novelists of her generation…It's clear that Levy has done her research, but this work never intrudes upon the narrative, which travels at a jaunty pace. Levy's sly humor swims just under the surface of the most treacherous waters…Her refusal to reduce her characters to merely their suffering does not trivialize the experience of enslavement, but underscores the humanity of all involved."[4]
According to Fernanda Eberstadt, “Levy's novelistic defense against evil and injustice is her humane sense of comedy. In The Long Song, she has painted a vivid and persuasive portrait of Jamaican slave society, a society that succeeded with bravery, style and strategic patience both to outsmart its oppressors and to plant the seeds of what is today a culture celebrated worldwide.”[5]
Amanda Craig described the book as being “above all the female version of emancipation, told in vivid, vigorous language in which comedy, contempt and a fierce poetry are at work ….”[6] Holly Kyte wrote: Levy’s handling of slavery is characteristically authentic, resonant and imaginative. She never sermonises. She doesn’t need to—the events and characters speak loud and clear for themselves.”[7]
Awards
The Long Song was the recipient of the Orange Prize. In addition it was voted “Best of the Best” novels ever to win that prize. It was a finalist for the 2010 Man Booker Prize. TheNew York Times Book Review awarded it the Notable Book of the Year award. It was the recipient of the 2011 Walter Scott Prize.[8]
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