"Someone Knows My Name" Lawrence Hill

This exceptional novel by Canadian author Lawrence Hill has two titles. In the United States, Australia and New Zealand, it is known as "Someone Knows my Name", yet it won the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 2008 under its original name, "The Book of Negroes", so it couldn't have offended the judges, some of whom may have hailed from African countries. Trying to whitewash genuine historical terms can often turn into a disadvantage with a book and cause confusion amongst readers, so it will be interesting to see what happens with the international release of the mini-series that is a South African/Canadian co-production. Read about it here.

But, no matter its title, this is a truly magnificent story about a young African woman taken into slavery who ends up in Canada. It is packed with all the conflicting aspects of humanity, both evil and good, and it ultimately carries a strong message of courage, love and hope - all the essential ingredients that make for classic fiction. There is no point summarising the plot here, as the book has been well-covered in many other reviews since it was first published in 2007. See Wikipedia for the plot and history, also comments from the author on difficulties with the title.

For anyone looking for a really rewarding work of historical fiction, this is very highly recommended.

Amazon Canada

Amazon USA

Booktopia Australia

Bookdepository (a book club discussion with both titles!)

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