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The Slave Factory
Slave factories, a crucial but largely forgotten part of the slave trade, were bases on the African coast that existed to buy slaves and resell them to slaving ships. They were places of notorious suffering and exploitation, detested by both the natives and by white slavers.
This story, in 12 brief chapters, focuses on the intersection of lives at one slave factory, Porto de Maria. Diego, its boss, is jaded. Matthew, its resident priest, has a terrible secret that drove him to Africa. Bowlu, his slave, struggles to find recompense for what he’s lost. William, the ageing captain of a visiting slaving ship, commands a divided crew, worries about interdiction at sea, and has come to Porto de Maria to determine his future. When these lives cross on the eve of the American Civil War, none of them will remain the same.
From Martian Lit. More info at http://martianlit.com
This story, in 12 brief chapters, focuses on the intersection of lives at one slave factory, Porto de Maria. Diego, its boss, is jaded. Matthew, its resident priest, has a terrible secret that drove him to Africa. Bowlu, his slave, struggles to find recompense for what he’s lost. William, the ageing captain of a visiting slaving ship, commands a divided crew, worries about interdiction at sea, and has come to Porto de Maria to determine his future. When these lives cross on the eve of the American Civil War, none of them will remain the same.
From Martian Lit. More info at http://martianlit.com
60 pages, Paperback
First published January 2, 2012
2 people are currently reading
549 people want to read
About the author
Julian Darius
125 books115 followersA creative writer and comics scholar, Dr. Julian Darius holds degrees in English (Ph.D., M.A.) and French (M.A.).
Darius founded Martian Lit, for which he writes several acclaimed comics titles, including Martian Comics, Necropolitan, Kimot Ren, Forever Man, and The Synthetics. He's also published a novel, some short stories, and a screenplay.
In 1996, while still an undergraduate, Darius founded what would become Sequart Organization, an organization devoted to promoting comic books and pop culture as a legitimate art form. He wrote copiously for Sequart’s website, has authored books on comics, and has produced documentary films for the organization.
He co-hosts the Stories out of Time and Space podcast with Scott Weatherly. It covers science-fiction movies and TV shows.
He currently lives in Illinois.
Darius founded Martian Lit, for which he writes several acclaimed comics titles, including Martian Comics, Necropolitan, Kimot Ren, Forever Man, and The Synthetics. He's also published a novel, some short stories, and a screenplay.
In 1996, while still an undergraduate, Darius founded what would become Sequart Organization, an organization devoted to promoting comic books and pop culture as a legitimate art form. He wrote copiously for Sequart’s website, has authored books on comics, and has produced documentary films for the organization.
He co-hosts the Stories out of Time and Space podcast with Scott Weatherly. It covers science-fiction movies and TV shows.
He currently lives in Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 27, 2020
The human condition is the inescapable features of being human.
But what makes us human? Is it the capacity for compassion, or the ability to choose to lack it?
I've always believed that apathy is a shameful anesthetic.
Indifference is dangerous.
Yet, I cautiously admit that endless reportage of atrocities throughout the world, past and present, can be so overwhelming to acknowledge sometimes, because there is just SO MUCH distress a person can absorb; there is only so many times you can be horrified by the capacity of and for human cruelty... so much that the more you know, sometimes, unforgivably, the more it has less impact on you. Some would say this is despicably egocentric and some may say it's a necessary self-preservation tactic, but however you classify the detachment it is still a contemptible disconnection.
Caring less about the victims who have actually had to endure true horrors is simply unforgivable. If it bothers you to even think of another being's suffering, just imagine having had to live through it. And if you can't take the time to honour that, to know gratitude, well... there's that question about the human condition again.
The Slave Factory can be read as a powerful, poignant reminder to not forget the ultimate degradations that you have not had to suffer, of the inhumane treatment and dehumanization of an entire race of peoples who had been reduced to nothing more than a commodity.
This book is to help you remember that even though the Trans-atlantic Slave Trade was finally abolished in the mid-nineteenth century, human beings should never become de-sensitized to the futility and despair suffered among the millions of African people who were mercilessly enslaved and who's painful and tragic suffering should never, ever be forgotten.
It's estimated that more than 15 MILLION Africans were forced from Africa to be sold into slavery, (if they even survived the Atlantic slaving voyages) and that means there are more than 15 million PERSONAL STORIES, millions of which are UNTOLD, of enslaved people who had to cope with unthinkable brutality and agony before they ever arrived to a plantation. It was a process of madness.
In the short span of just 50 pages, you have a chance to rediscover the cruel and sobering realities of the Atlantic slave trade through the fictious yet realistic characterisation of a captured man named Bowlu, who has been sold into slavery.
Through a simple narration you see into his mind and heart as this haunting story unfolds describing tragic mental suffering, physical pain and tireless exertions. Also chronicled in several other voices as paths cross at Porto de Maria, the slave factory central to this story.
I really appreciated this story; I needed to be reminded of that level of suffering. How only the absolute, absolute minimum amount of basic needs were provided to these starving and beaten people while the maximum amount of work and other "services" was expected of them.
It will make your stomach turn to know that the suffering of beatings, rapes, starvation, humilation and tortures were accepted, and in many cases, welcomed, and even lost their edge, as the terror of living in your head, the agony of mind, while being cramped inside a slaving vessel for months on end while in transit to the Americas, was far more dreadful to some people.
"because it means a few hours away from the stink of five hundred chained men and a few minutes of seeing the night sky."
This is a very short story, but is long enough to understand the tragedy, and be affecting. I'm not sure anything longer would bring any more merit to the story.
It's disturbing, it's grave, it's surprising and the ending, well, this is really a story about the human condition, and nothing underlines that more than the ending.
[Disclaimer: I won this book as a First Reads winner during a Goodreads Giveaway on Jun 27, 2012, however the review is my own honest opinion and I was not solicited by the author or any agent of Goodreads.]
But what makes us human? Is it the capacity for compassion, or the ability to choose to lack it?
I've always believed that apathy is a shameful anesthetic.
Indifference is dangerous.
Yet, I cautiously admit that endless reportage of atrocities throughout the world, past and present, can be so overwhelming to acknowledge sometimes, because there is just SO MUCH distress a person can absorb; there is only so many times you can be horrified by the capacity of and for human cruelty... so much that the more you know, sometimes, unforgivably, the more it has less impact on you. Some would say this is despicably egocentric and some may say it's a necessary self-preservation tactic, but however you classify the detachment it is still a contemptible disconnection.
Caring less about the victims who have actually had to endure true horrors is simply unforgivable. If it bothers you to even think of another being's suffering, just imagine having had to live through it. And if you can't take the time to honour that, to know gratitude, well... there's that question about the human condition again.
The Slave Factory can be read as a powerful, poignant reminder to not forget the ultimate degradations that you have not had to suffer, of the inhumane treatment and dehumanization of an entire race of peoples who had been reduced to nothing more than a commodity.
This book is to help you remember that even though the Trans-atlantic Slave Trade was finally abolished in the mid-nineteenth century, human beings should never become de-sensitized to the futility and despair suffered among the millions of African people who were mercilessly enslaved and who's painful and tragic suffering should never, ever be forgotten.
It's estimated that more than 15 MILLION Africans were forced from Africa to be sold into slavery, (if they even survived the Atlantic slaving voyages) and that means there are more than 15 million PERSONAL STORIES, millions of which are UNTOLD, of enslaved people who had to cope with unthinkable brutality and agony before they ever arrived to a plantation. It was a process of madness.
In the short span of just 50 pages, you have a chance to rediscover the cruel and sobering realities of the Atlantic slave trade through the fictious yet realistic characterisation of a captured man named Bowlu, who has been sold into slavery.
Through a simple narration you see into his mind and heart as this haunting story unfolds describing tragic mental suffering, physical pain and tireless exertions. Also chronicled in several other voices as paths cross at Porto de Maria, the slave factory central to this story.
I really appreciated this story; I needed to be reminded of that level of suffering. How only the absolute, absolute minimum amount of basic needs were provided to these starving and beaten people while the maximum amount of work and other "services" was expected of them.
It will make your stomach turn to know that the suffering of beatings, rapes, starvation, humilation and tortures were accepted, and in many cases, welcomed, and even lost their edge, as the terror of living in your head, the agony of mind, while being cramped inside a slaving vessel for months on end while in transit to the Americas, was far more dreadful to some people.
"because it means a few hours away from the stink of five hundred chained men and a few minutes of seeing the night sky."
This is a very short story, but is long enough to understand the tragedy, and be affecting. I'm not sure anything longer would bring any more merit to the story.
It's disturbing, it's grave, it's surprising and the ending, well, this is really a story about the human condition, and nothing underlines that more than the ending.
[Disclaimer: I won this book as a First Reads winner during a Goodreads Giveaway on Jun 27, 2012, however the review is my own honest opinion and I was not solicited by the author or any agent of Goodreads.]
January 15, 2012
Didn't think I'd like this because I don't like preachy stuff and this is about the slave trade. But the writing pulled me in. A complex, literary story that pays off in the end.
March 26, 2012
what a wonderful book. Really opens your eyes to things
April 14, 2012
This book is dramatically centered on the highly ambivalent character known as Father Flanagan, who is in charge of an African slave factory during the 19th century. I found this a chilling tale, yet at the same time it was quite moving.
Because I read this book for the Around the World challenge, I wanted to pin it down geographically. I couldn't find Porto de Maria in a Google search. There were three colonial powers in the Congo. Did this take place in what was known as the Portuguese Congo? Wikipedia identifies it as currently being named Kabinda which is a province in Angola.
Because I read this book for the Around the World challenge, I wanted to pin it down geographically. I couldn't find Porto de Maria in a Google search. There were three colonial powers in the Congo. Did this take place in what was known as the Portuguese Congo? Wikipedia identifies it as currently being named Kabinda which is a province in Angola.
April 12, 2012
I will never cease to be surprised and horrified by the capacity for human cruelty. The Slave Factory is a short, yet brutal look at Porto de Maria, a slave factory. It is mostly told through the eyes of Bowlu, a man who was captured, sold into slavery, and taken to Porto de Maria. The story is told matter-of-factly, without gratuitous sex or violence; but of course the story is rife with violence and violent sex. While well written, this book made me very sad.
February 9, 2022
I remember after finishing this, just having a devastating feeling. When Darius does historical fiction/screenwriting he does it damn well. This is another of those works that make you question your life as it is now. What is our privilege, especially white and rich, and how did it foster from the slave trade.
March 6, 2013
Once I first started reading this novella, I was a bit annoyed to rehash such a painful portion of my history, but as I perservered and continued on I realized it was necessary. Never should we as Black and African people forget the sufferings of our ancestores just to exist as human beings. The commodity of black women being nothing more than dumping grounds for every horny male within the boundaries of her existence,of course still annoys the he-l-l out of me; even now the Black woman is objectified as nothing more than s-e-x on a platter. I felt slightly bad for Bowlu, being betrayed by the one person he'd grown to love and trust, it wasn't however shocking. The imagery in the novella was distinct and it definitely put me inside the compound, inside the suffering, inside the pain, fear and darkness of the people living this nightmare. The tossing of LIVE beings overboard with no regard to the breath they took was enough to bring tears to my eyes, both of hurt and fury. Even for as far as we've come we still have far to go, being the ONLY group of American's who STILL have to fight every few years to keep the right to vote. We can never stop fighting for equality, especially against people whose ignorance leads them to beleive the color of their skin somehow makes them superior. We are all HUMAN, period. Great Job by the author and I appreciate him tackling this very sensitive issue with class.
April 17, 2012
Won as a First-Reads book.
Slave factories were the collection points on the coast of Africa where slave ships picked up their human cargo. The Slave Factory is basically the story of a two day encounter between four men: the "factory" manager, a ship's captain, a priest, and a slave.
It's a very short novel (50 pages) but in that space raises some interesting questions about how human beings treat and react to each other. It's a well-written, emotionally moving story.
Slave factories were the collection points on the coast of Africa where slave ships picked up their human cargo. The Slave Factory is basically the story of a two day encounter between four men: the "factory" manager, a ship's captain, a priest, and a slave.
It's a very short novel (50 pages) but in that space raises some interesting questions about how human beings treat and react to each other. It's a well-written, emotionally moving story.
March 17, 2012
I first read this on Kindle and then bought it in print for my bookshelf! It's short but thought provoking.
April 13, 2013
A stunning novella about the slave trade that will leave you thinking for long after about all types of bondage from the most obvious in a book about slavery, to that which is self-imposed.
October 31, 2012
Julian Darius provides a glimpse, from several perspectives, as to what life may have been like at a slave factory on the African Coast. We are witness to, in meticulous detail, the brutality and horrendous conditions endured by the slaves. We are also able to peer into the thoughts and conflicting feelings of the once free and now captured slave who develops a bond with one of his captors. The motives of the slave traders, head of the slave factory, local priest and ship captain are also explored.
I received a signed copy of this book courtesy of the author in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks!
I received a signed copy of this book courtesy of the author in a Goodreads giveaway. Thanks!
April 7, 2012
This was a first read giveaway, for being a fictional book I felt like it did have facts in it that displayed what the African people suffered through at the hands of the white man and their people.I enjoy reading civil war history and that is what attracted me to the book all though I guess I had it in my mind that it was non-fictional and was expecting more facts, however I did enjoy reading this book. It does open your eyes to what this particular race of people suffered through.
July 16, 2012
I received this book for free through Goodreads.
Incredible story that enlightened me to the harsh cruelties of slavery in a way I've never beflre experienced. At the same time, Darius created a story that showed how experiences can completely change one's perspective. Making a slave "wish to be sold."
There is no happy ending to be found here. It's a small book with large teeth.
Incredible story that enlightened me to the harsh cruelties of slavery in a way I've never beflre experienced. At the same time, Darius created a story that showed how experiences can completely change one's perspective. Making a slave "wish to be sold."
There is no happy ending to be found here. It's a small book with large teeth.
June 3, 2012
It was interesting, but it's not all that original, and it definitely should have been elaborated on. It was way too short and undeveloped in my opinion.
*disclaimer* I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway, but my review is 100% honest.
*disclaimer* I won this book through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway, but my review is 100% honest.
Want to read
February 23, 2012Having just recently read The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden, this book look quite interesting.
March 17, 2012
Stirring and concise.
August 16, 2012
I received this book from the GoodReads first reads. It was heart breaking. It was fiction but told in such a way you feel for the characters.
November 3, 2012
Perfect for Kindle.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews