Book: Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Book: Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Again, I read this on my iPhone with Stanza, so the link is to Wikipedia. Do yourself a favour: if you haven’t read this, don’t read the plot summary, read the book instead.

Published in 1852, nine years before the US Civil War, this book is a series of fictionalised accounts of stories from slavery. What happens when a master has complete ownership over a slave? If the owner is good, then the slave is well looked after, but if the owner is mean, there is nothing that can be done under the law to protect the slave.

Written from a pious Christian point of view, even the Christians who were endorsing slavery are not spared the wrath of the author. The Christian with the most integrity in the book is the eponymous Tom: by his faithful witness, he seeks to win over various people (slaves and masters alike), with varying levels of success.

This book regularly appears on lists of “must read” books, and it clearly deserves its place: truly vivid language, engaging characterisations. I would recommend giving it a look.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.