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Drapetomania: Or, The Narrative of Cyrus Tyler & Abednego Tyler, lovers
When house-servant Abednego is sold away south, his heartbroken field-hand lover Cyrus snaps and flees the estate on which he has lived his entire life. Leaving everything he knows behind him, evading dogs and patrollers as he heads north, in the midst of a dismal swamp Cyrus receives the revelation that Abednego is his true North Star, and, impossible though it seems, he determines to find and rescue his lost lover from slavery.
Ten years in the writing, Drapetomania, Or The Narrative of Cyrus Tyler & Abednego Tyler, lovers, is an epic tale of black freedom, uprising, and a radical representation of romantic love between black men in slavery times.
A riveting, masterful work. Set against the brutalizing, material captivity meant to break the soul, that came to define the chattel enslavement of Africans in the American south, Drapetomania tells the compelling story of two men whose love for each other reimagines the erotic contours of what was possible under the whip and scrutiny of catastrophic bondage. Here is a story of love so powerful, so achingly present, it dares to consider not just the past but the future, as vital to freedom; and in doing so, defies any notion of the black enslaved body as an ugly, unpalatable thing, unworthy of the sweetness of love. Gordon’s novel enters the company of such classic works as Edward P. Jones’s The Known World, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and Barry Unsworth’s Sacred Hunger. We will be reading and talking about this extraordinary novel for years to come.
Ten years in the writing, Drapetomania, Or The Narrative of Cyrus Tyler & Abednego Tyler, lovers, is an epic tale of black freedom, uprising, and a radical representation of romantic love between black men in slavery times.
A riveting, masterful work. Set against the brutalizing, material captivity meant to break the soul, that came to define the chattel enslavement of Africans in the American south, Drapetomania tells the compelling story of two men whose love for each other reimagines the erotic contours of what was possible under the whip and scrutiny of catastrophic bondage. Here is a story of love so powerful, so achingly present, it dares to consider not just the past but the future, as vital to freedom; and in doing so, defies any notion of the black enslaved body as an ugly, unpalatable thing, unworthy of the sweetness of love. Gordon’s novel enters the company of such classic works as Edward P. Jones’s The Known World, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, and Barry Unsworth’s Sacred Hunger. We will be reading and talking about this extraordinary novel for years to come.
502 pages, Paperback
First published May 14, 2018
12 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
John R. Gordon
9 books6 followersJohn R. Gordon lives and works in London, England. He is the author of three novels, Black Butterflies, (GMP 1993), for which he won a New London Writers' Award; Skin Deep, (GMP 1997); and Warriors & Outlaws (GMP 2001), both of which have been taught on graduate and post-graduate courses on Race & Sexuality in Literature in the United States. He script-edited and wrote for the world's first black gay television show, Patrik-Ian Polk's Noah's Arc (2005-6). In 2007 he wrote the autobiography of America's most famous black gay porn star from taped interviews he conducted, My Life in Porn: the Bobby Blake Story, (Perseus 2008). In 2008 he co-wrote the screenplay for the cult Noah's Arc feature-film, Jumping the Broom (Logo) for which he received a NAACP Image Award nomination. The same year his short film Souljah (directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair) won the Soho Rushes Award for Best Film.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 16, 2021
When I found out there was actually another novel about gay slaves in the antebellum South, published a couple years before this year’s much-hyped
The Prophets
, I was excited and eager to see if this earlier version, the first of its kind as far as I know, had succeeded where its successor fell short.
Sadly, my hopes were dashed once again! Guess I’ll have to keep dreaming of the day a writer will finally illuminate this neglected corner of history without bloated storytelling and overwrought prose.
Had I been playing a Drinking Game while reading both novels, taking a shot every time a sentence made me roll my eyes or groan out loud, I’d have wound up passed out on the floor and nursing one hell of a hangover the next morning.
It's a shame, too, because both have beautiful stories hidden away beneath all that overblown prose.
This is the more conventional and accessible of the two novels, an epic love story between Cyrus and Abednego Tyler, two slaves from the same plantation - one a picker of cotton and the other a "servant" in the "Big House."
An impulsive, confusing kiss from Abednego one Spring afternoon awakens a latent curiosity within Cyrus and leads to a special "friendship" unlike anything he’s ever shared with a woman.
In some sweet and endearing early sections (that tend to strain credulity at times), Cyrus and Abednego sneak away for secret rendezvous when their perpetually drunk and compulsively violent "overseers" aren't around - brief, stolen moments of joy and intimacy in the midst of an otherwise dismal and grueling existence. When one of them is sold away due to the sudden financial hardships of their owner, the one left behind escapes and embarks on a bold and dangerous journey to find his lost lover.
As a fan of historical fiction, I love when writers transport me back to a specific time and place, evoking the sights and sounds and smells so vividly I feel like I'm actually there. At this, the novel truly excels.
In painstaking, at times exasperating detail, we experience nearly every waking second of every day in a runaway slave's desperate struggle for survival. We witness every fire built, every forage for food, every brief, fitful nap in the crook of some tree.
Some may find the slow pacing and details a bit much - lets just say there's a lot of “expelling of bowels" in the woods - but it also makes for an immersive and harrowing reading experience. There are several gripping, suspenseful chapters that I won't be forgetting any time soon.
Unfortunately, the writing itself kept getting in the way of the otherwise effective world-building and story-telling for me.
The author seems to be mimicking a formal, flowery, mid-19th century literary style, almost as if he's presenting a recently discovered "slave narrative" from that time period.
It's not a bad idea, in theory at least. But here it just comes across as convoluted and ornate and verbose, bogging down the narrative and distracting from the unique and important story being told. Here's just one example that made my skin crawl:
But his gut began to heave uncontrollably again, and his gorge rose as if some animal composed entirely of terror was seeking to be born from the womb of his stomach through the tearing vagina of his mouth; and though the base functions of the body cannot be transcended more than briefly by the will, still he ran on, plungingly, blood energies surging galvanically within him, forcing him onwards, and it was as if he would burst to pieces.
And do we really need to know that ropes of drool broke from the dog's mouth and spattered like ejaculate onto Cyrus' grimacing upturned face ? It's a striking image, to be sure, but also a jarring one considering the violent context.
There are just too many sentences like that one scattered about, coming off as gratuitous or absurd.
To be fair, there are some beautifully constructed and insightful passages too - just not nearly enough to forgive or forget the truly cringe-worthy ones.
Sadly, my hopes were dashed once again! Guess I’ll have to keep dreaming of the day a writer will finally illuminate this neglected corner of history without bloated storytelling and overwrought prose.
Had I been playing a Drinking Game while reading both novels, taking a shot every time a sentence made me roll my eyes or groan out loud, I’d have wound up passed out on the floor and nursing one hell of a hangover the next morning.
It's a shame, too, because both have beautiful stories hidden away beneath all that overblown prose.
This is the more conventional and accessible of the two novels, an epic love story between Cyrus and Abednego Tyler, two slaves from the same plantation - one a picker of cotton and the other a "servant" in the "Big House."
An impulsive, confusing kiss from Abednego one Spring afternoon awakens a latent curiosity within Cyrus and leads to a special "friendship" unlike anything he’s ever shared with a woman.
In some sweet and endearing early sections (that tend to strain credulity at times), Cyrus and Abednego sneak away for secret rendezvous when their perpetually drunk and compulsively violent "overseers" aren't around - brief, stolen moments of joy and intimacy in the midst of an otherwise dismal and grueling existence. When one of them is sold away due to the sudden financial hardships of their owner, the one left behind escapes and embarks on a bold and dangerous journey to find his lost lover.
As a fan of historical fiction, I love when writers transport me back to a specific time and place, evoking the sights and sounds and smells so vividly I feel like I'm actually there. At this, the novel truly excels.
In painstaking, at times exasperating detail, we experience nearly every waking second of every day in a runaway slave's desperate struggle for survival. We witness every fire built, every forage for food, every brief, fitful nap in the crook of some tree.
Some may find the slow pacing and details a bit much - lets just say there's a lot of “expelling of bowels" in the woods - but it also makes for an immersive and harrowing reading experience. There are several gripping, suspenseful chapters that I won't be forgetting any time soon.
Unfortunately, the writing itself kept getting in the way of the otherwise effective world-building and story-telling for me.
The author seems to be mimicking a formal, flowery, mid-19th century literary style, almost as if he's presenting a recently discovered "slave narrative" from that time period.
It's not a bad idea, in theory at least. But here it just comes across as convoluted and ornate and verbose, bogging down the narrative and distracting from the unique and important story being told. Here's just one example that made my skin crawl:
But his gut began to heave uncontrollably again, and his gorge rose as if some animal composed entirely of terror was seeking to be born from the womb of his stomach through the tearing vagina of his mouth; and though the base functions of the body cannot be transcended more than briefly by the will, still he ran on, plungingly, blood energies surging galvanically within him, forcing him onwards, and it was as if he would burst to pieces.
And do we really need to know that ropes of drool broke from the dog's mouth and spattered like ejaculate onto Cyrus' grimacing upturned face ? It's a striking image, to be sure, but also a jarring one considering the violent context.
There are just too many sentences like that one scattered about, coming off as gratuitous or absurd.
To be fair, there are some beautifully constructed and insightful passages too - just not nearly enough to forgive or forget the truly cringe-worthy ones.
July 8, 2018
Hands down the most compelling read in years. Suspenseful pose deliciously detailed you’ll want to savor it all. Though you’ve never read a story like this you’ll appreciate brilliant execution of the narrative. Nearly 500 pages in length, it appears daunting but is anything but. Truly A MUST READ. A MUST!!!
November 25, 2019
Ok, I just finished this book and I must write about it while it's fresh. I started this two days ago and felt driven to finish it.
It is an innovative story set in slavery days and features an M-M love story. It is not a short book and a huge section depicts the journey of one runaway...it's a grueling and gruesome part of the book, but it demonstrates the devotion one can have for another. And this is a compliment: it read like a movie.
It's a sweet story and I'm so glad that it does NOT follow a certain trope (a very tiresome and stupid one that too many authors use).
Two quotes (the second is a spoiler, scroll down a bit to see it):
"This was both a fresh claim on his body and a reclamation, and was made the sweeter by its secrecy..."
"...and his full lips broke into a wide, wide smile, the sort of smile rarely seen in that dispiriting place, and he jumped the map on the floor, making the candle-flames dance, and threw himself into Cyrus' arms, and they held each other while the others watched, surprised, amused and, as Cyrus would later realize, also in awe, for this was prophecy, this was hope embodied; and for Cyrus, and for Abednego, there was too a power of having their reunion seen, having it witnessed: this happened; this was done. And their bodies fit together like the restored halves of a shattered geode; like the river's current and the catfish; the bird's wing and the updraft; the sun and soil and the erupting seed, need answering need and yet all was a giving and not a taking; and they did not kiss, not before the others, but cheek was warm against cheek, and their salt-traced faces were wet with sudden tears, and there were no words, and nor were any needed."
It is an innovative story set in slavery days and features an M-M love story. It is not a short book and a huge section depicts the journey of one runaway...it's a grueling and gruesome part of the book, but it demonstrates the devotion one can have for another. And this is a compliment: it read like a movie.
It's a sweet story and I'm so glad that it does NOT follow a certain trope (a very tiresome and stupid one that too many authors use).
Two quotes (the second is a spoiler, scroll down a bit to see it):
"This was both a fresh claim on his body and a reclamation, and was made the sweeter by its secrecy..."
"...and his full lips broke into a wide, wide smile, the sort of smile rarely seen in that dispiriting place, and he jumped the map on the floor, making the candle-flames dance, and threw himself into Cyrus' arms, and they held each other while the others watched, surprised, amused and, as Cyrus would later realize, also in awe, for this was prophecy, this was hope embodied; and for Cyrus, and for Abednego, there was too a power of having their reunion seen, having it witnessed: this happened; this was done. And their bodies fit together like the restored halves of a shattered geode; like the river's current and the catfish; the bird's wing and the updraft; the sun and soil and the erupting seed, need answering need and yet all was a giving and not a taking; and they did not kiss, not before the others, but cheek was warm against cheek, and their salt-traced faces were wet with sudden tears, and there were no words, and nor were any needed."
June 30, 2018
This is a fine Victorian style novel. It is broad in scope and drama. The characters are lightly but assuredly drawn. The action pops in among the tense journey - particularly so in Cyrus' narrative. There is much here that is familiar but a great deal of new and heart wrenching narrative to excite, disturb and educate the reader. This novel is at times touching, brutal, domestic and epic. It is the story of two men but in its scale and vision it is the story of us all.
April 21, 2019
EPICally BRILLIANT in EVERY respect, from the beginning , to the middle , right through to the end , delivered on every level ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Totally recommendable
November 5, 2018
Wow; this was an endurance test; and so-given the beyond searing subject matter- it SHOULD have been.
John R. Gordon has spent 10 years writing a narrative of remorseless Biblical and Gothic prose which mirrors the rhythms of the horrific lives of these gay male Southern U.S slaves; and their journey towards freedom. He does not, nor should he, spare us ANYthing.
Cyrus's going further South(where slavery was even MORE prevalent) in his desperately moving journey to find his same-sex lover, Abednego, is portrayed in epic and beautiful words; but is really BEYOND words; perhaps that is why Gordon chooses a deliberately stylised tone.
Some basic research revealed that this is the only (substantial?) fictionalised narrative of homosexual black slaves in the American South; that this is so is DISGUSTING; and shows marginalisation upon marginalisation, brutality upon brutality.
For this, and many reasons, it will be disturbing for non-black and non-lgbt people to read, because of being part of the historical web of collusion with this double oppression and cruelty. But for ANYONE to read it is, but should not HAVE to be,an eye-opener for the (non) status of people who were seen as chattels/Non-human, because of their colour/race AND their sexual orientation.
This is a great novel, which is also an account of a situation which must have happened a lot more often than many would like to make out..... Read it!
John R. Gordon has spent 10 years writing a narrative of remorseless Biblical and Gothic prose which mirrors the rhythms of the horrific lives of these gay male Southern U.S slaves; and their journey towards freedom. He does not, nor should he, spare us ANYthing.
Cyrus's going further South(where slavery was even MORE prevalent) in his desperately moving journey to find his same-sex lover, Abednego, is portrayed in epic and beautiful words; but is really BEYOND words; perhaps that is why Gordon chooses a deliberately stylised tone.
Some basic research revealed that this is the only (substantial?) fictionalised narrative of homosexual black slaves in the American South; that this is so is DISGUSTING; and shows marginalisation upon marginalisation, brutality upon brutality.
For this, and many reasons, it will be disturbing for non-black and non-lgbt people to read, because of being part of the historical web of collusion with this double oppression and cruelty. But for ANYONE to read it is, but should not HAVE to be,an eye-opener for the (non) status of people who were seen as chattels/Non-human, because of their colour/race AND their sexual orientation.
This is a great novel, which is also an account of a situation which must have happened a lot more often than many would like to make out..... Read it!
July 27, 2020
This is a remarkable book. It’s an epic romance between two enslaved men full of adventure, tension, rich detail, and humanity. Gordon does a phenomenal job of bringing the landscape and material culture of the antebellum South to life. The book is long (nearly 500 pages!) but so is the best fantasy/adventure fiction. Cyrus and Abednego’s journeys propel the story forward with as much excitement and suspense as Odysseus’, Frodo’s, and Huck Finn’s stories. Having gay, black, heroic, romantic leads who have agency felt like a necessary corrective to the most prominent depictions of slavery in American culture (Gone with the Wind et al). Women are not at the center of the narrative, but Gordon makes sure to give the supporting female characters agency and humanity as well, without sugarcoating the horrors faced be enslaved women in particular. The author does not hold back in describing the brutality of slavery, but it’s important to read about because it’s true and part of our country’s legacy. But the hopes, desires, lives, and loves of the enslaved characters come through always. Highly, highly recommend this astounding read and need it made into a blockbuster movie or high-budget miniseries yesterday.
May 16, 2018
****Full review and Q&A over at G. Jacks Writes****
Reading this book was such an experience for me. Each chapter, character action, the accuracy in the details, the pacing; all of it reads like an epic. I went through several stages of what felt like a symbolic, yet temporal, metamorphosis, both emotionally and consciously, by the lives illustrated by some of the enslaved characters in this book. So, I will try to keep my notes and thoughts on the story linear with this post.
Drapetomania is broken up into three books in this novel and told in a third person perspective that alternates between the lives and experiences of the two main characters, Cyrus and Abednego. Set in the late 19th century, where bristling talk and whispered rumors of a war between the Southern plantations faction of the United States, against the industrializing, forward-thinking North. However, unaware of the truth behind the rumors of a Civil War on the horizon, Cyrus, and Abednego, two enslaved men who live and work on the same plantation, have fallen in love.
I already knew a lot about the horrible treatment, abuse and dehumanizing conditions that enslaved Africans & African-Americans lived in, but to be placed in the middle it while reading this book took a whole other form and meaning.
I had a Q&A with John, (the full interview is on my blog)) and asked about certain story themes and relative messages that he placed in the narrative. And one of the things he talked about just pulled me back to story's core: which was the love between Cyrus and Abednego as the true representation of the light and feeling of hope that pulls the reader forward.
In book one, we follow Cyrus, a field-hand, as he runs away from the Tyler estate several months after Abednego has been sold away. He sets out for freedom and follows the North Star while being hunted until he realizes that he is running for a sense of freedom that he has only ever felt when with his lover, Abednego. Once Cyrus understands what he is truly missing, his character is driven by that singular desire of feeling whole once more—with Bed.
In book two, the perspective shifted to Abednego and I love, love, loved that I was able to see Abednego’s point of view first-hand as all the information we have up until this point was from Cyrus’ s point of view.
And while book two depicts his life after Tyler’s estate and several months before Cyrus’s escape, it brought a validation to their relationship, their love for each other and their story all at once. As at the heart of everything that unfolds in Drapetomania, it was a reminder that it is a love story of one heart beating within these two men.
I loved reading/watching Cyrus’s character growth in this book, but what I think I loved more was the way in which Abednego’s character was more sound minded and clear within his identity. Compared to Cyrus, Abednego carried a rage and resistance within him even from his lover’s point of view.
And just to give you a better idea of some of the layers in Drapetomania, running parallel to Cyrus and Bed’s separation from each other, the author incorporated a number of other powerful themes that I might not be able to name them all. Such as: work and war (of white men) falling on the backs of others (black people), a message on universal morality versus the benefit of selected morality when it comes to a (white) person’s personal gain.
There was also such a strong presence/theme of religion in this book and on how the harsher the punishment or living conditions of the enslaved, the stronger and more resilient a group of people can become. While I felt this build-up of resilience in the first chapter, book three acts as its true catalyst.
I don’t want to spoil anything by talking too much about what we finally see in book three, but I personally felt the build-up, Cyrus’s journey, all the people he met along the way, and Abednego’s experiences were all paid off and justly so.
This book will take you through so many different emotions even though it is a work of fiction, you are consciously aware that the situations are based on truth.
Two things I feel like I have taken away from this book are perseverance from Cyrus’ and Abednego story and their experiences. Second, a mindfulness to not let the present overshadow the past because so many of the themes verbalized by the characters in this book is still mirrored in our society today.
I highly recommend other book enthusiasts of History, LGBT+ and Diversity to read Drapetomania as well; it is an experience you will not forget.
Reading this book was such an experience for me. Each chapter, character action, the accuracy in the details, the pacing; all of it reads like an epic. I went through several stages of what felt like a symbolic, yet temporal, metamorphosis, both emotionally and consciously, by the lives illustrated by some of the enslaved characters in this book. So, I will try to keep my notes and thoughts on the story linear with this post.
Drapetomania is broken up into three books in this novel and told in a third person perspective that alternates between the lives and experiences of the two main characters, Cyrus and Abednego. Set in the late 19th century, where bristling talk and whispered rumors of a war between the Southern plantations faction of the United States, against the industrializing, forward-thinking North. However, unaware of the truth behind the rumors of a Civil War on the horizon, Cyrus, and Abednego, two enslaved men who live and work on the same plantation, have fallen in love.
I already knew a lot about the horrible treatment, abuse and dehumanizing conditions that enslaved Africans & African-Americans lived in, but to be placed in the middle it while reading this book took a whole other form and meaning.
I had a Q&A with John, (the full interview is on my blog)) and asked about certain story themes and relative messages that he placed in the narrative. And one of the things he talked about just pulled me back to story's core: which was the love between Cyrus and Abednego as the true representation of the light and feeling of hope that pulls the reader forward.
In book one, we follow Cyrus, a field-hand, as he runs away from the Tyler estate several months after Abednego has been sold away. He sets out for freedom and follows the North Star while being hunted until he realizes that he is running for a sense of freedom that he has only ever felt when with his lover, Abednego. Once Cyrus understands what he is truly missing, his character is driven by that singular desire of feeling whole once more—with Bed.
In book two, the perspective shifted to Abednego and I love, love, loved that I was able to see Abednego’s point of view first-hand as all the information we have up until this point was from Cyrus’ s point of view.
And while book two depicts his life after Tyler’s estate and several months before Cyrus’s escape, it brought a validation to their relationship, their love for each other and their story all at once. As at the heart of everything that unfolds in Drapetomania, it was a reminder that it is a love story of one heart beating within these two men.
I loved reading/watching Cyrus’s character growth in this book, but what I think I loved more was the way in which Abednego’s character was more sound minded and clear within his identity. Compared to Cyrus, Abednego carried a rage and resistance within him even from his lover’s point of view.
And just to give you a better idea of some of the layers in Drapetomania, running parallel to Cyrus and Bed’s separation from each other, the author incorporated a number of other powerful themes that I might not be able to name them all. Such as: work and war (of white men) falling on the backs of others (black people), a message on universal morality versus the benefit of selected morality when it comes to a (white) person’s personal gain.
There was also such a strong presence/theme of religion in this book and on how the harsher the punishment or living conditions of the enslaved, the stronger and more resilient a group of people can become. While I felt this build-up of resilience in the first chapter, book three acts as its true catalyst.
I don’t want to spoil anything by talking too much about what we finally see in book three, but I personally felt the build-up, Cyrus’s journey, all the people he met along the way, and Abednego’s experiences were all paid off and justly so.
This book will take you through so many different emotions even though it is a work of fiction, you are consciously aware that the situations are based on truth.
Two things I feel like I have taken away from this book are perseverance from Cyrus’ and Abednego story and their experiences. Second, a mindfulness to not let the present overshadow the past because so many of the themes verbalized by the characters in this book is still mirrored in our society today.
I highly recommend other book enthusiasts of History, LGBT+ and Diversity to read Drapetomania as well; it is an experience you will not forget.
August 31, 2020
This is a fantastic novel and I can't say enough good things about it. Set in the deep South just prior to the Civil War, it's a beautifully written account of two slaves who find love between them on a plantation. Cyrus is a field hand while Abednego works as a house servant. When Abednego is sold to another plantation, Cyrus makes the very bold decision to run and rather than head towards the relative safety of the North, heads South to find his true love. The author's ability to capture the terror and anxiety of a slave on the run is outstanding. I won't spoil it but Cyrus does end up even encountering help from a white man along the way as well as stepping right into the middle of a slave uprising. Read this novel to see what happens. So happy to have had this on my list and will recommend it to anyone interested in this dark chapter of American history.
July 4, 2019
One of the most enjoyable reads I have had in a long time. I missed some sleep because I just could not at times put the book down. A beautifully written and compelling story -Dickens crossed with Homer, it feels like a classic work with an iconic character in Cyrus.
November 30, 2019
An absolutely stunning novel.
Beautifully written and gripping, I could hardly put it down. Every sentence felt like a small work of art.
The subject matter was very hard hitting, but well presented.
I couldn’t recommend this book more highly.
Beautifully written and gripping, I could hardly put it down. Every sentence felt like a small work of art.
The subject matter was very hard hitting, but well presented.
I couldn’t recommend this book more highly.
January 10, 2020
Admittedly, I don’t read fiction a lot, but this is top-tier historical fiction. John R Gordon is such a gifted writer. It ain’t easy to write a novel set in pre civil war America about two enslaved *Queer* Black men and have it be heartbreaking and heartwarming, simultaneously.
August 8, 2019
Beautiful writing style.
Great unique story - got hooked and didn't want to put it down.
Great unique story - got hooked and didn't want to put it down.
December 18, 2020
Enjoyable on so many levels. A compelling adventure story of escape from slavery, an examination of human nature at its best and worst, a love story. A very rich experience.
May 16, 2024
3.5 Stars
An impulsive yet altogether confusing kiss from Abednego 1 Spring afternoon awakens a latent curiosity within Cyrus and leads to a special relationship between the two slaves. Though burdened with excessive language for much of the novel, this was an interesting and captivating queer love story between the two slaves that took us on a wild ride.
An impulsive yet altogether confusing kiss from Abednego 1 Spring afternoon awakens a latent curiosity within Cyrus and leads to a special relationship between the two slaves. Though burdened with excessive language for much of the novel, this was an interesting and captivating queer love story between the two slaves that took us on a wild ride.
May 10, 2019
4.9 Stars
Why not 5 stars? See the last paragraph.
This was without a doubt one of the most emotional and moving books I have read in a long, long time. John Gordon’s writing is stunningly beautiful, intimate, and powerful. The story is dramatic, sensitive, almost unbearably cold in its realistic descriptions of human misery, and yet it is also uplifting and hopeful.
If you can get past the first few pages and prepare yourself emotionally for what’s to come in the next 500, you will be rewarded with writing that is, quite simply, superb. Whether it’s a description of abject poverty, hunger, and inequality among men; or the magnificent colors and obstacles in nature; or the feelings of pain a person probably experiences at the doorstep of death either through freezing, hunger, overwork, or inflicted pain; or even the intimate love between Cyrus and Abednego, you will feel like you are there, having those experiences.
The author’s descriptions of cruelty, terror, and inhumanity inflicted upon slaves by their owners and overseers are excruciating to read. I can’t imagine putting those words on paper because I would feel like I was personally committing those crimes, and twice, when I could tell what was going to happen in the upcoming scene, I just had to jump to the next paragraph. It was just too much for me.
Yet I couldn’t put this book down. The pace of the story is very fast, and close calls kept my heart thumping. Gordon is a master wordsmith. At times a single paragraph takes up a full page but it's never daunting. Gordon uses erudite, seldom-used words such as architraves, chiaroscuro, chthonic, coffle, despoliation, desuetude, encomium, gnomon, incarnadine, manumission, ormolu, scotopic, and susurrus, which when juxtaposed against the basics of survival add to the beauty and drama occurring on the page.
This is one hell of a story, and I loved it! Here’s my single complaint. The book could have used another proofread before it was published. I found a few mistakes such as a zero used for an oh letter in one place; at least one instance of run-in words; and too many uses of further and brake when the words farther and break, respectively, were meant. Words are currently styled for a British audience (amidst, amongst, afterwards, backwards, cauterised, crystalised, southwards, towards), whereas American readers are more accustomed to amid, among, afterward, backward, cauterized, crystalized, southward, toward, and the like. But my pet peeve was the constant, unnecessary hyphenation of adverbial phrases (brightly-lit, gaily-painted), which after a while became like a bad tic in writing. If the book had gone through another proofread to catch some of those errors, I would have given it 5 stars. I'm a picky reader, but still, this book is a smashing success!
Why not 5 stars? See the last paragraph.
This was without a doubt one of the most emotional and moving books I have read in a long, long time. John Gordon’s writing is stunningly beautiful, intimate, and powerful. The story is dramatic, sensitive, almost unbearably cold in its realistic descriptions of human misery, and yet it is also uplifting and hopeful.
If you can get past the first few pages and prepare yourself emotionally for what’s to come in the next 500, you will be rewarded with writing that is, quite simply, superb. Whether it’s a description of abject poverty, hunger, and inequality among men; or the magnificent colors and obstacles in nature; or the feelings of pain a person probably experiences at the doorstep of death either through freezing, hunger, overwork, or inflicted pain; or even the intimate love between Cyrus and Abednego, you will feel like you are there, having those experiences.
The author’s descriptions of cruelty, terror, and inhumanity inflicted upon slaves by their owners and overseers are excruciating to read. I can’t imagine putting those words on paper because I would feel like I was personally committing those crimes, and twice, when I could tell what was going to happen in the upcoming scene, I just had to jump to the next paragraph. It was just too much for me.
Yet I couldn’t put this book down. The pace of the story is very fast, and close calls kept my heart thumping. Gordon is a master wordsmith. At times a single paragraph takes up a full page but it's never daunting. Gordon uses erudite, seldom-used words such as architraves, chiaroscuro, chthonic, coffle, despoliation, desuetude, encomium, gnomon, incarnadine, manumission, ormolu, scotopic, and susurrus, which when juxtaposed against the basics of survival add to the beauty and drama occurring on the page.
This is one hell of a story, and I loved it! Here’s my single complaint. The book could have used another proofread before it was published. I found a few mistakes such as a zero used for an oh letter in one place; at least one instance of run-in words; and too many uses of further and brake when the words farther and break, respectively, were meant. Words are currently styled for a British audience (amidst, amongst, afterwards, backwards, cauterised, crystalised, southwards, towards), whereas American readers are more accustomed to amid, among, afterward, backward, cauterized, crystalized, southward, toward, and the like. But my pet peeve was the constant, unnecessary hyphenation of adverbial phrases (brightly-lit, gaily-painted), which after a while became like a bad tic in writing. If the book had gone through another proofread to catch some of those errors, I would have given it 5 stars. I'm a picky reader, but still, this book is a smashing success!
March 14, 2019
This was really exciting and riveting. It seemed very well researched, and if certain fortuitous events sometimes strained credulity, it was in the interest of keeping the plot moving and our hero alive. I felt like it was sort of a hyper-realistic Dickensian tale set in the last gasps of the slave-owning South. The feeling of terror was palpable throughout the Gothic setting, and the humanity of the slaves brought into such sharp relief with their treatment. In one respect, in the slave south, homosexual love between slaves was not really any less likely to survive as heterosexual love, given the denial of any human right to a relationship or agency over one's body. However, the punishment if they had been caught would probably have been much more severe than for a heterosexual couple (though all the punishments described in the book seem barely degrees away from horrific), and means we feel the hero is even more peril. I felt a little conflicted at times at the detail of some of the horrors inflicted by the slave owners--I don't want to feel like I am reading about it in some sort of voyeuristic way and becoming desensitised, but I do see the value in not hiding from how horrible it really was.
March 1, 2020
Th 4.5 rating is not wrong - this is a magnificent book. It is not a light read; every page is powerful. It has stayed with me long after I read it and it's one of those few books I could see myself reading again.
May 2, 2020
Preposterous story
This was a preposterous story. Although the prose was well written, it did not complement the period in history that was being written about. That BOTH black men seemed totally comfortable with their homosexuality was bizarre, especially given the cultural mores and religious beliefs of the times. The slave revolt was a joke on many levels.
This was a preposterous story. Although the prose was well written, it did not complement the period in history that was being written about. That BOTH black men seemed totally comfortable with their homosexuality was bizarre, especially given the cultural mores and religious beliefs of the times. The slave revolt was a joke on many levels.
September 20, 2020
Tensely Engaging
It’s obvious a lot of historical research was done in the creation of the novel. It’s a fascinating read, capturing what life may have been like during the time period for gay men in general, and black gay men in particular.
It’s obvious a lot of historical research was done in the creation of the novel. It’s a fascinating read, capturing what life may have been like during the time period for gay men in general, and black gay men in particular.
July 1, 2021
it's a 5 star plot but burdened with excessive language in places. overall it is a great read but be prepared for the writing style as it is heavy on verbiage in places.
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