Time's Memory

by Julius Lester

Amma is the creator god, the master of life and death, and he is worried. His people have always known how to take care of the spirits of the dead – the nyama – so that they don’t become destructive forces among the living. But amid the chaos of the African slave trade and the brutality of American slavery, too many of his people are dying and their souls are being ignored in this new land. Amma sends a young man, Ekundayo, to a plantation in Virginia where he becomes a slave on the eve of the Civil War. Amma hopes that Ekundayo will be able to find a way to bring peace to the nyama before it is too late. But Ekundayo can see only sorrow in this land – sorrow in the ownership of people, in the slaves who have been separated from their children and spouses, in the restless spirits of the dead, and in his own forbidden relationship with his master’s daughter.
How Ekundayo finds a way to bring peace to both the dead and the living makes this an unforgettable journey into the slave experience and Julius Lester’s most powerful work to date.  Time's Memory is a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, African American, Magical Realism, Africa, Historical

230 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2006

About the author

Julius Lester was an American writer of books for children and adults. He was an academic who taught for 32 years (1971–2003) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was also a photographer, as well as a musician who recorded two albums of folk music and original songs.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the weaving of the plot was weak.

[April MB Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating, poignant, sad story, with a good helping of hope and understanding thrown in. Weird "religion", but anything new is weird at first generally. Beautiful ideas, but I would not recommend it to a child who is confused about God or their beliefs. This book would only confuse them further. For someone who has a strong faith and/or belief in a higher power this book shares wonderful insight into differing views. I like that this book did not rest on the idea that Black and White are who we are, but that we are all people, and black, white, or whatever, we all make good and bad choices and we all want to be loved and remembered.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into the flow of this book. It is about the spirit of a man from Africa which transfers from person to person. Each time he moves into a new body, he has something he needs to accomplish. This has a strong African American base and is a good fantasy for everyone. I would recommend it be junior high level and above due to content about slavery and life as a slave.

[Karen Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a page-turner, but I kept wanting a fuller picture of the main characters' worlds or social contexts. Some of the plotting seemed arbitrary. The book did make me want to read more about the Dogon belief system.

[Joant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great beginning, African mysticism, weak ending.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember many details about this (read in 2006, just now adding in 2010), but I remember that it was a very interesting mix of time travel, mysticism, and history. Very emotional.

[Bobby Lenor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a great beginning. It was a African mysticism book. I really didn't like the ending though.

[Staff Favorites · Rating 4 out of 5]

A riveting novel of a young man born with wisdom of Africa in his soul, who has a mission to help free the American slaves on the eve of the Civil War.

[Ella Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BEST I HAVE READ! Hands down to all the people in the world, and saying no to racism. This is a wonderful gift that everyone should have, and appreciate what life has to offer.