The African

by Harold Courlander

The tale of an African boy who is captured from his tribe and sold in America as a slave

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Africa, Novels, Black Historical Fiction, Book Club, Literary Fiction

311 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just to get this out of the way: YES. Alex Haley plagiarized from this when writing "Roots." Courlander took him to court and, though Haley initially huffed it was all nonsense, Haley actually settled and issued one final concession: "Alex Haley acknowledges and regrets that various materials from 'The African' by Harold Courlander found their way into his book 'Roots.'" Through magic, one assumes. :/

The most galling part is that not only is Courlander’s book shorter than Haley’s, but Courlander’s book is BY FAR the better one. Aside from being better written, better researched & better paced, it humanizes and demonstrates the religious, ethnic, ideological, cultural and individual diversity of Africans and Black Americans — while Haley seems so dedicated to presenting his supposed ancestors as suffering saints that he strips them of all agency, personality, individuality or vitality. If there were any justice in the world of literature, Courlander’s would be the book recommended to grade school kids rather than Haley’s fraud.

[Qelilah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the book that was said that Alex Haley plagiarized. He may have at the very beginning, but there are things in Alex Haley's book that makes his fiction superior. There are no people captured in 'The African' who know who Jesus was, can read or write. Many Africans who were captured and who were Jewish, Christian, or Muslim could read, write, or recite Holy writings from memory. Many were multilingual. I liked The African's direction in the Native American culture. I was surprised that he knew the name of the people my ancestors were from and did not only use the common American name of Creek.
The story is pretty good. But, I have another problem. He states, in 1993, that he had not read anything about the African experience from Africa to America. I find this hard to believe. There was an author who wrote a fictional series on an African experience from Africa to America. This author was so well known that several of his books were made into movies. The name of the author is Frank Yerby and his fictional account started with The Dahomean and ended with A Darkness at Ingraham's Crest.
There were also slave accounts of the start in Africa to America. One very famous one was not a fiction and was given to us by Olaudah Equiano. I can see both literature in The African.

The book is a good read for those who have no knowledge of the African history of Christian, Jews, and Muslims being traded into slavery. The best thing about this book is the introduction of diverse Black characters, good guys and bad guys.

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lead to this book after reading Alex Haley's Roots. Roots was captivating to me (see review), and so I did some additional research on it and discovered there were alligations that Haley plagiarized from Harold Courlander's "The African", published nine years before Roots (It seems the passages in question were concentrated in the life of Kunta Kinte); after Courlander sued Haley an out of court monetary settlement from Haley to Courlander was made, though Haley seems to have maintained innocence in the matter.

"The African" is a good book, for a white guy like Courlander to write. It contains detailed information on the capture, transport, sale and lifestyle of slaves. Religious concerns are examined in depth, with the main character assuming a mish-mash of his ancestral voodoo and American Christendom.

It was an interesting read, but it didn't captivate me like either Roots or Jubilee (the other work Haley is suspected to have plagiarized from - which I HIGHLY recommend, see review), but of which are, in my opinion, superior renditions. Nonetheless, it is my understanding that "The African" was a ground breaking book, published during a time when there was neither interest nor research in the African experience of Americans transplanted forcibly by the slave trade. Courlander's commitment to opening a window into this oppressive situation is admirable, even if the work he produced lacks brilliance.

If you are interested in the themes of African Americans making their way, you should also check out the other book Haley plagiarized from...
Jubilee, Walker, 1966
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A new book has been written that I prefer to Roots. A generational narrative that spans from Africa to America and back, see
Homegoing, Gyasi, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

For my review and research on Alex Haley and Roots (as well as some healthy GoodReads discussion/ debate), see
Roots, Haley, 1976
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[LeeTravelGoddess · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very first words I knew that Alex plagiarized but here’s the thing, Harold actually STUDIED African& Haitian/Caribbean History... he took many trips and actually did the work!!

I loved this book from beginning to end and really did not want it to end. In some ways, I feel as if HC embodied The African and perhaps lived off the land for some time to get the most appropriate words to use in this beautiful novel! I love how the Indians were incorporated and that while there is no happy ending— there is also no sad ending. There were times I wanted to cry and times I wanted to cheer... I hope Wes made it and never once did he have to step on anyone to get anywhere. I’m tripping though cause white people actually thought they had done everyone a favor.

Girl... 🙄. Goodbye. Cause guess what, African Americans, Africans and Indians are out here flourishing despite what was forced upon us. GREATNESS 👑. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 easy!

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Courlander was an ethnomusicologist who traded reel-to-reel tapes with people from all over the world. He adapted to what he'd learned from from histories on either side of the Middle Passage and turned it into a novel written in the style that one lives one's life: not quite knowing what will happen next. The result is an awesome portrait of man's passage through slavery and explores the corners of the American South and lesser known phenomena of a people on the brink of (semi-) emancipation. Read Courlander's book and track down his LPs to discover a person's passion for sharing the secret stories of human beings the world over.

[Vicky Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Worth Reading

Whether you've read Roots or not, The African was a beautiful novel. I discovered it when I decided to read Roots for my Journey Around the World in 80 Books for 2019. I read The African so I could compare the two works. The two books have very little comparisons between them. I waited to review this until I had finished all of Roots so I could fairly judge both in my own mind. Afterwards, I feel as if I discovered a new great read accidentally. I recommend Mr. Courlander's book for anyone interested in Africa or slavery. But, I also suggest the reading of Roots, for those interested in comparing the two. They both reveal much about the time period they share.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is really unfair that this book has been forgotten while Roots has received such acclaim. This book is a beautiful, compelling saga of Africans enslaved and sent across the ocean, detailing each part of the life of the main character, Hwesuhunu, from boyhood in Africa to the voyage over to his time on the plantations and ultimately his bid for freedom. Strongly recommended.

[Caitlin Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story, written with care and passion. I was surprised after reading it, that I had never heard of it before becoming an adult. Despite some vulgarities in the language used it seemed like a story which might have been required reading in school at one point or another. It was well written in any case.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

another really good book from my "sociology of the inner city child" class. the author of this book sued alex haley (the author of roots) for stealing his idea... and won! there are definitely some eerily similar experiences in both books.

[Primelover]

what can i do to read this book ?? help me please

[Víctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

El lagarto del árbol se imagina ser un cocodrilo. Al otro lado de la montaña hay montañas. Los que hace la pólvora ganan las batallas. Ante todo vivamos; el destino es vivir, hay tiempo de sobra para estar muerto. El hombre destinado a morir por la lanza, no se ahoga jamás

[Caleb]

It's Similar To Roots

[Karen Lagace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Much better than the overrated Roots by Alex Hayley.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sort of shocked at the high praise this book has gotten and even more shocked that it’s on Audible.

Bottom line: This book would be forgotten completely if it wasn’t connected to Alex Haley's Roots . As for the plagiarism, while the two books have a similar overall story, aka an African sold into slavery ends up on USA Plantation, I didn't see any blatant plagiarism.

There are three striking things about the book. First, an almost complete lack of description. Courlander doesn’t create any atmosphere. The landscape, the weather, people's appearance and dress, the ships or the houses are described in the briefest and blandest ways - or not at all.

Second, the characters have no personality. They're completely flat. Its often hard to tell who is talking since they all sound the same.

Third, we get an insane amount of dialogue, at times the book is just one long conversation. However, none of it is memorable or even interesting. Most the African dialogue - in particular -comes off as fake.

The novel has one positive: we get things from the African slave standpoint. But even that's let down by Courlander poor writing. I never felt I was following a living, breathing historical character. Instead, the bad writing constantly took me out of the story. Too much of the writing is mechanical. It constantly reminded me that the author was a 20th Century white man TRYING to write from the African POV.

Summary: There’s a reason why Courlander wrote 7 novels, and only the African ,. is remembered. He was a poor novelist. Fortunately for him, Alex Haley wrote Roots and he got a nice payday. Skip the African, read Roots. At least Haley was black.

[Randy Grossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a journey of an African 12 year old...being carried across to the new world in a pirate ship. Eventually he spends time as a slave in Georgia, escapes from that and lives in the wilderness with Indians and other refugees of the time period. All this happens in the span of about 8-10 years from his introduction. The story had some interesting moments AND some dry reading. It was mostly interesting to me, but had a rather inconclusive ending.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, just to get this out of the way, the author of this book, Harold Courlander, sued Alex Haley, saying that Haley ripped off some parts of Roots from this book. And Courlander won. So there's that. It's pretty much just the part on the slave ship, though, not the whole story or anything.

Anyway.

This is an interesting story, and I'm going to compare it to Roots because I can't help it. The main difference is that this is just the story of one man, rather than a family history. But the dude does have a few different experiences that I've never read about before, like being in a couple of independent black communities in America, one on St. Croix (I think?) and one off the coast of . . . Georgia? I think? He was also a guest of a Native American village for a while (I forget which tribe). So that was cool. But there's . . . I dunno. It didn't make me FEEL like Roots did, even if we're only talking about Kunta Kinte ("the African" of that book). Courlander doesn't spend enough time describing Wes's life in Africa -- and he was only twelve when he was stolen -- so it's hard to feel the Africanness of Wes after he's in America. I mean we're told of it, but I didn't FEEL it, I didn't feel that sense of loss and of out-of-placeness and despair. It's a nice, interesting story, and things that happened were sad and terrible sometimes, but I don't know that I was ever moved to tears, and I am pretty good at being moved to tears by sad books. I just never felt like I really knew Wes. If someone was like "should I read this book? It sounds interesting" I would probably say "sure" but I would never go to someone and say "you know what you should check out? You should read The African." Whereas I think everyone in America should read Roots. For perspective. And it's not a perfect book! But it's important, and it makes you feel what it's like to be a black slave in southern America. In The African you're just reading about it.

[Vandella · Rating 4 out of 5]

An African’s Passage to Destiny
By Vandella Brown

African: A Novel by Harold Courlander is the story of Wes Hunu (Hwesuhunu), a captured slave’s journey from slave ship to America’s wilderness. It is an incredible passage from boyhood to manhood in an African tradition. Courlander (1908-1996), an American Jewish author, wrote a memorable story in great respect of African-American culture. Courlander story begins in Africa, captures the terror of life on a slave ship voyage, slave rebellions on land and sea, and Wes Hunu continuing destiny or fate as an iconic African hero during the eighteen hundreds. The novel acquaints the reader with African deities, tribal differences, slave plantations and a freedom island before the Civil War.
I wanted to read the Courlander’s book after learning that in 1978, Alex Haley (1921-1992), the author of Roots, published in 1976, settled a lawsuit for plagiarism of the African. It was found that several passages had been copied from the African by Haley’s researchers and had gotten into the book, Roots. After reading the book, overall, I noticed very little resembles in the story lines and flow of the story to Roots. Even though the African was founded as a proven resource for Haley’s Roots, in fact, I believe most readers would not compare or contrast the writers based on style, storytelling ability, the use of facts and creativity in works of literature.
The African published in 1967 is a good read; the main protagonist is strong, intelligent and believable! And that makes the African a classic read.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading and researching Roots by Alex Haley, I had to read this one too because Haley was accused by Harold Courlander (and settled out of court) of plagiarizing from this book. Although parts of the stories are similar, as a judge, I would have found it difficult to agree. I'm certain Haley was influenced by the earlier book (The African was the first book to begin a story of slavery in America in Africa.) but I was expecting direct quotes or at least trains of thought to be repeated and I didn't find that. This was an intriguing and perhaps unlikely story of an African boy, captured and enslaved, who must come to grips with the choices in attitude and action that are before him while maintaining his African heritage. It was well-researched, and I have developed a great deal of respect for Harold Courlander as I've learned more about him.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as great a novel as Roots: The Saga of an American Family, but still interesting. Haley was accused of plagiarizing this book but I didn't find anything blatant. The African has some very different plot points, compared to Roots. Both are about a young African man that is kidnapped from his home, taken to America, and works on a plantation. Roots expands certain parts of the story and continues the tale after the original protagonist.

[Darcy Leerhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave up on this one and returned it to Audible.

[Troy Marshall]

I am trying to read the novel.