Details:
- author: Brian C. Johnson
- full title: Send Judah First – The Erased Life of an Enslaved Soul
- narrator: Elizabeth Isitor
- genre: historical fiction
- topics: #slavery
- publisher: Hidden Shelf Publishing House
- publish date: 01.08.2019
- timing: 6:32:00
My Rating of the Audiobook:
- content: 💙💙💙💙
- narration: 💙💙💙
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| Goodreads |
Exerpt from the Book
Many days must have passed. Yuda had never seen or felt such horror. The stench of being locked within a damp chamber; crammed against bodies unknown. Sorrow, anger, fear, frustration - she cried for days, deeply longing for her mother, her father, her brothers and sisters, her friends. Would she see any of them ever again? And what was left of her home, of beautiful Goga? Even spurts of sleep, twisted atop the damp floor, brought no comfort.
Death was everywhere. At times, groups of captives were dragged onto the deck and ordered to dance around to the delight and abuse of the white men. A few of the Africans managed to break free, jumping into the Great Sea to drown. Some refused to eat and were force fed. Others simply wasted away into death, their bodies producing a rancid smell that lingered long after the goat's milk men had removed the corpse and tossed it into the ocean.
My Thoughts:
I was torn to write a review about this audiobook. Although I liked a lot of things about this book and narration, some held me back.
Story:
I liked this heartbreaking story. Yuda was a 12-year old girl when slave traders took her from her home village in Africa. In America, others called her Suki and later Judah. It is a fictional story about a real slave woman that worked on Belle Grove Plantation in Virginia. We do not know much about her life - just that she was a cook, had 12 children, and died in 1836. Everything else is a work of fiction, speculation of what her life might be.
Narration:
It was the narration that I was torn about the most. I liked Judah's native language at the beginning of the book and the narrator's singing. The original narration was too slow for me. But that's why we have a speed option on audiobook apps. :) And 1.75 was good for me. I didn't like the pronunciation of the name Suki and some other words. I'm not sure if this is the correct spelling, as I didn't see the book or some other source to confirm it.
The story is very good. The author here offers a glimpse into the life of enslaved people in the 19th century. Narration, in my opinion, could use some work. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this audiobook, and I would still recommend it, as I'm sure many readers will appreciate it despite these small narration flaws.
