Christopher’s review of Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom > Likes and Comments

Couldn’t agree more. Interesting story, but felt like there was t enough personal detail to fill a book, so the author stuffed it full of historical context that really dragged it down. And the writing was dry as hell.

Mike wrote: "Couldn’t agree more. Interesting story, but felt like there was t enough personal detail to fill a book, so the author stuffed it full of historical context that really dragged it down. And the wri..."

Hi Mike! Yeah, good first half, amazing, important stuff. But the lecture circuit was less exciting. Eh, you can't have everything. And I'm still glad I read it. Thanks again for the comment!
CF

My thoughts exactly. I would rather have read more about their lives pre-escape and maybe a chapter or two once they arrived in Boston. I’m also very glad that I read it but there were way too many profiles of other, related characters to hold my interest over the book’s second half.

Emdowell wrote: "My thoughts exactly. I would rather have read more about their lives pre-escape and maybe a chapter or two once they arrived in Boston. I’m also very glad that I read it but there were way too many..."

Thanks for the comment! Glad I read it, but not exactly the most compelling writing. Have a great day!

Ditto on every single point. I skimmed everything after the lecture circuit started. This would have been a fascinating article, but makes for a drawn-out book.

Beth wrote: "Ditto on every single point. I skimmed everything after the lecture circuit started. This would have been a fascinating article, but makes for a drawn-out book."

Thanks! Good topic, but the execution was a little too like a dissertation for me. I still recommend it. Happy Reading to you!

Came here to disagree. I think the historical context was as compelling and well-written as the personal narrative.

My thoughts exactly. The first part was intriguing and the second part was dry and boring, unfortunately.

Well said, and I agree, but gave it only 2 stars.

Laurie wrote: "Came here to disagree. I think the historical context was as compelling and well-written as the personal narrative."

Hi - OK! Clearly it's a book most people enjoyed. I do have a membership with the Unpopular Opinion Club...

Thanks for the note and happy reading!
CF

Julia wrote: "My thoughts exactly. The first part was intriguing and the second part was dry and boring, unfortunately."

Thanks for the comment, Julia!

Nancy wrote: "Well said, and I agree, but gave it only 2 stars."

Thanks! I liked the first part enough to go 3. The big surprise to me is how many people have liked and commented on this thing!

Happy reading!

I’m loving it. While it was billed as the tale of their escape, which I think is even more important (and compelling) is the work they did after they made their trek. Putting themselves in danger by speaking out to help end slavery and secure an education for enslaved people and Africans. IMHO shows their true character and influence. Slavery isn’t an epic, feel good story. I learned far more information that is so important for every American to know in the 2nd part of the book.

I really liked the story. It is very moving, everything they did.
It is very enlightening to know what was happening in the south especially before the civil war.

I just finished reading the book and feel the same way. You did a good job of outlining the problems with this book. As interesting as it was, it could have been better and more concisely told.

I agree with your review. Exciting! Boring. Fascinating. Boring. It is such a compelling story and I think it could have been crafted (ha ha) to be more engaging later in the book.

Just finished this book and I agree with all that you said!

I totally disagree with you. This historical context is critical to this story and the detail is important to understanding the trajectory of their amazing journey.

I agree with your critique. I think there just wasn’t enough material on the Crafts to write an 300 page book, so the author spent (too much) time exploring tangential stories that were not particularly relevant to the tale, even if her goal was to give historical context. The lecture circuit section— who they stayed with and where they spoke—was particularly dry and dull.

Totally agree with your assessment!

I agree with the reviewer that there was a problem with the lecture section. My diagnosis of the problem is different. The author kept on avoiding addressing the schisms within the movement, implying that they were largely divisions over personality (Garrison’s). Sure, there was inevitably some of that. But their divisions were often over questions of profound ethical and political importance. And there is much drama in how these matters of conscience are struggled with and over. This is why I loved all the detail in one of my favorite books on abolitionism, Means and Ends in American Abolitionism, by Aileen Kraditor. The question of whether to link radical causes or address them as single issues, for example, is fraught and complicated. Woo avoided the drama of the debate between abolitionists who wanted to keep the focus on slavery, and thereby exclude women from the podium according to patriarchal tradition, and those who wanted and believed that abolitionism would be stronger by valuing and promoting the voices and human rights of abolitionist women too. Sure, I have more attraction to the latter camp, but those on the other side that argued the cause of abolitionism was too urgent to lose potential allies by mixing in “other” causes had a tactical point. These issues of focus and intersectionality haven’t gone away. I thought there was a missed opportunity here to engage with these debates through the lens of the Crafts’ experiences, and this would have revivified those sections.

I agree completely.

I'm well into the lecture circuit and am struggling. So I thought, let me see what others are thinking; maybe it's just me!
Christopher, your thoughts mirror mine. Precisely.
I'm m
Not sure if I can finish but I'll give it my best effort in spite of the tedium.
Fascinating and brave characters!

I loved the details and do not think it was drawn out unnecessarily. Sometimes I think we want a quick read, but in this case the detail was an important part of the story.

My sentiments exactly! I love learning about history, but I thought I was going to read a narrative about a couple. Turned out to be a long detailed recount of slavery and the politics with it. I felt like that part could have been summarized.

The original narrative is written by William and Ellen Kraft and is the excellent first-hand autobiographical account of their own journey.

Excellent review. Couldn’t agree with you more. Well said…thank you

If you had majored in the history of this period, you might have grooved on that section. Otherwise the narrative as written by the Crafts presented a wonderful description of their journey and the lives of the slave families of that period. That was history enough for me.

My thoughts exactly. I also gave it 3 stars.

I'm in that section now and enjoying it, but that's probably because I know more of the people introduced from other narratives about the era and find the interactions and various concerns and anecdotes interesting. Ciara's recommendation of the original "Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom" is good because it delivers that narrative of a couple on the run, which might be a better bet for those who just want the account of their escape, but Woo's book is dishing up additional information and details, including those places where the original account is fictionalized, like the story about Ellen's maternal aunt or the crazy lady on the train.

I disagree with Sam about this part -
"The author kept on avoiding addressing the schisms within the movement, implying that they were largely divisions over personality (Garrison’s)."
I actually think she is clear that there are ethical and political divisions, but she really only seems to talk about two or three. Consequently, I am very interested in Sam's recommendation of "Means and Ends in American Abolitionism": that sounds fascinating.

Completely agree

Agree. Not enough detail around Ellen’s illnesses. The things that could have made it much more about their lives. Was she sick? Was she really in bed depressed with PTSD? But so much detail about the lecture circuit. I feel a bit like it was a history book disguised as a book.

DNF after 50% for the reasons you stated

This is a work on history, not historical fiction. The conte t provided by the author on her subjects, the Crafts, was very insightful and worked in my opinion. Without the detail of some of the other historical people they interacted with would have lost the importance of the threats against the Crafts and others in their situation.

I agree with these comments

Totally agree with these comments

I couldn't agree more!! This is exactly how I felt (still feel as I plod through this book club selection). I am a fan of historical fiction, and realize this is a biography of sorts BUT it is a biography of waaaay too many people. I get it, there is a lot to be told about this very challenging and important time in our country's history, but it doesn't need to be told all in one book.

I appreciate most of the detail. As narrative non fiction, the author is clear about the “might have, could have,” etc. I was intrigued and wondered why I had never heard about this couple before now,

Strong disagreement for me this is really where it gets interesting as an analysis of what led to the civil war and exposes the morally compromised so called anti-slavery leaders who still didn’t see black people as human