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The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equino, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African
A Narrative Masterpiece | Essential Black History | African American History Classic The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equino, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African was written by Olaudah Equino and was Published in 1789 and is an important autobiography in African history. Buy a Copy for Yourself or Someone Else Today! From Olaudah Equino - “After all, what makes any event important, unless by its observation we become better and wiser, and learn 'to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God'? To those who are possessed of this spirit there is scarcely any book of incident so trifling that does not afford some profit, while to others the experience of ages seems of no use; and even to pour out to them the treasures of wisdom is throwing the jewels of instruction away.” “My life had lost its relish when liberty was gone.”
171 pages, Paperback
Published July 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2025
It’s strange rating something that was written for such a different context and audience. This book was made to convince people of the abolitionist cause bt showing them an example of a sophisticated, heroic and Christian African who bought his own freedom. It proves Black humanity.
In order to do that, Equiano does everything he can to portray himself within the boundaries of European standards. He tells his story as a classic European hero story, in which he faces hardship at sea, and finds God. From a modern perspective, this feels counterintuitive, but it was effective in the abolition struggle of the time, when Christianity wasn’t to be questioned.
Still, Equiano manages a fairly compelling picture of African civilization, one that does inform his audience that there are other moral ways to live beyond their own. His descriptions of morality as it relates to African women particularly are interesting and fit into a broader conversation about femininity and whiteness.
That being said, this book still suffers from some durdly descriptions and recounting of sea travel and too much god talk for my taste. From my own perspective, this book can’t be higher than a 3/5.
In order to do that, Equiano does everything he can to portray himself within the boundaries of European standards. He tells his story as a classic European hero story, in which he faces hardship at sea, and finds God. From a modern perspective, this feels counterintuitive, but it was effective in the abolition struggle of the time, when Christianity wasn’t to be questioned.
Still, Equiano manages a fairly compelling picture of African civilization, one that does inform his audience that there are other moral ways to live beyond their own. His descriptions of morality as it relates to African women particularly are interesting and fit into a broader conversation about femininity and whiteness.
That being said, this book still suffers from some durdly descriptions and recounting of sea travel and too much god talk for my taste. From my own perspective, this book can’t be higher than a 3/5.
February 6, 2022
Did not finish. I might take it up again, reading the hard copy book (I was reading it on my phone), as I would like to get a good visual overview of the book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews