Black Coffee discussion

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Also published as

The Book of Negroes

Posted for Maya

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Well be reading rhis one. I hope I can keep up with all thw readings. lol

Everyone please feel free to join in on this discussion in January.


The Tv series will be on BET in February. I thought it would be fun to read before the series starts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy5IM...

Here is a link to the author's website:

http://lawrencehill.com/

I started this book last night. I think its really good so far. I had to make myself go to sleep last night lol. I have a feeling I will finish this book by the weekend.

Maya wrote: "I started this book last night. I think its really good so far. I had to make myself go to sleep last night lol. I have a feeling I will finish this book by the weekend."

oh my gosh, it is SO good! I made it to Book 3 last night. Looking forward to the discussion.

Shannon wrote: "Maya wrote: "I started this book last night. I think its really good so far. I had to make myself go to sleep last night lol. I have a feeling I will finish this book by the weekend."

oh my gosh, ..."
Yeah! I am starting book 2 tonight. The way the author wrote it, I can picture everything as I am reading.

It airs starting January 7th.

I'm reading it now too.

Maya wrote: "Shannon wrote: "Maya wrote: "I started this book last night. I think its really good so far. I had to make myself go to sleep last night lol. I have a feeling I will finish this book by the weekend..."

Agreed. The author captures so many details. Day to day things that tend to be overlooked in many novels and especially novels about slavery. It's almost as if writers are so focused on capturing the horrors that they overlook the details that Hill has included in what is shaping up to be a brilliant novel.

Lee wrote: "It airs starting January 7th.

I'm reading it now too."

Did you mean February 7th?

Nope. January. lol

http://www.cbc.ca/bookofnegroes/conte...

He stated it as well. Go to thw link and stroll to the bottom. It states the date & time. lol

Lee wrote: "http://www.cbc.ca/bookofnegroes/conte...

He stated it as well. Go to thw link and stroll to the bottom. It states the date & time. lol"

Oh, okay. This is the Canadian site. Are you in Canada? It premieres in the US on BET in February.

It is airing in Canada on Jan 7th. So If you get CBC you can watch it this month.

It is airing in the US on BET in February.

Sorry Shannon. I was wrong. I certainly don't get CBC channels. lol

I don't have CBC. I am waiting on the BET premiere in February.


To anyone that has finished book 1, please feel free to discuss!!

There are discussion questions in the back of the book. What do you all think about using those to guide us?

Mrs. Beverly can you post the link to the February airing link? :-)

What is book 1? I thought it was all the same book, just 2 different titles.

Your right Lee! It's all one book but the author breaks it down into sections. Last night I finished book 1 as the author calls it. It stopped at like page 99

Maya wrote: "Your right Lee! It's all one book but the author breaks it down into sections. Last night I finished book 1 as the author calls it. It stopped at like page 99"

Here is the BET site, but I don't see the air dates on here - just the month.
http://www.bet.com/shows/the-book-of-...

Yes, the novel is divided into 4 sections, Book 1-4. Let me check out the discussion questions and we can get going!

Oh... maybe its books within the book. lol

Lee wrote: "Oh... maybe its books within the book. lol"

yes! lol. I was confused at first too

Maya wrote: "I don't have CBC. I am waiting on the BET premiere in February.


To anyone that has finished book 1, please feel free to discuss!!

There are discussion questions in the back of the book. What do ..."

I don't have discussion questions in the back of my book (I have the Canadian version, The Book of Negroes).

Now I'm debating should I read the book or see the movie first ?

Shannon wrote: "Maya wrote: "I don't have CBC. I am waiting on the BET premiere in February.


To anyone that has finished book 1, please feel free to discuss!!

There are discussion questions in the back of the b..."

Shannon when I get home tonight I will look at it and list the questions

Sheryl wrote: "Now I'm debating should I read the book or see the movie first ?"

Sheryl, it will be a 4 week miniseries. One of the reasons I like to read the book first is because I get to form my own image of the characters. Although in this case The Book of Negroes has Aminata, the storyteller, on the cover. I don't know who Cuba Gooding Jr. is playing in this miniseries, but I certainly don't want images of him popping into my head while I'm reading!

lol

LOL Shannon at the thought of Cuba Jr popping in your head while reading

Shannon wrote: "Sheryl wrote: "Now I'm debating should I read the book or see the movie first ?"

Sheryl, it will be a 4 week miniseries. One of the reasons I like to read the book first is because I get to form m..."

Read the book first - this is a wonderful read that is epic in scope and reads really well.

I saw the preview on TVOne not BET. I will read first.

The back of the book has 12 discussion questions. I can post them this weekend which will give everyone chance to read the book

The air times are confirmed on Lawrence Hill's website: The Book of Negroes TV miniseries will be broadcast in the United States on BET, at 8 pm on February 16, 17 and 18, 2015. The weekly airing will occur in Canada. I think I like the back-to-back air times!
http://lawrencehill.com/news/

Thanks Shannon - will put in on my calendar !

I like that the U.S are showing the episodes back to back.

How is the reading going for everyone?


what are your thoughts on the character Aminata?

I finished last night. The fact that Aminata could deliver babies and read had a profound impact on the trajectory of her life. Even today, people truly underestimate the value of knowing a trade. Depending on what you take up, trade school is as good as university.

I have'nt started yet. Im picking up the bookbover weekend.

It's always good to have skills ! I think you need more than one to fall back on .

I finished today. I thought Aminata had so much strength and courage. The author did a great telling her story. I had closure in the end. I cant wait for the tv mini series

sheryl feel free to post your thoughts on the book at anytime.

With everything that Aminata had been through what do think kept her going?

I think Aminata got her strength to keep going by Praying to Allah and think of her parents and what they would want her to do.

What parts of the book were your favorite?

Maya wrote: "What parts of the book were your favorite?"

Since I gave this book 5 stars, that question is almost impossible to answer! I was moved by the calling of the names when bodies were thrown overboard. I was also touched by the game they played to learn each others names.

I wonder wonder why they did not include Aminata in their plans to revolt. I know she was staying with the doctor, but it seems like they would've told her more than they did. I think they would've been successful if they knew how to use the guns.

This makes me realize that I need to do more research on other slave revolts. I'm beginning to wonder how many were successful, although I suppose if they were, we would not know about them. But I'd at least like to know the reason that many of them failed.

Yes, I agree Shannon! I was very moved by that part of the book where they learned each other names. Maybe they did not tell her much about the revolt because they were using her as a distraction for the doctor.


My favorite part of the book was the relationship Aminata had with her husband. The way the author wrote their love for each other and tied it in to the whole story was great

I was going over the questions that are in the back of the book and they all seem pretty basic to me. I am going to list them and please feel free to pick and choose which ones you would like to answer.

1. What is the significance of the title Someone Knows My Name?

2. What is your opinion about Hill's suggestion that Aminata's very youthfulness at the time of her abduction enables her emotional survival, even as some of the adults in her world show signs of crumbling?

3. The section of the book set in the sea islands of South Carolina depicts eighteenth-century indigo plantations where African American slaves and overseers are left largely to their own devices during the "sick season"—a good half of the year. To what degree does this cultural and social isolation allow for an interesting development and interaction of African American characters in the novel?

4. Aminata suffers some horrifying cruelties at the hands of her captors, but her relationships with her masters aren't always what you'd expect. How does Aminata's story reveal the complex ways that people react to unnatural, unequal relationships?

5. During the course of the story, Aminata marries and has a family. Although she is separated from them, she is reunited from time to time with her husband and one of her children. What does the work tell us about the nature of love and loyalty?

6. Aminata struggles to learn and master all sorts of systems of communicating in the new world: black English, white English, and Gullah, as well as understanding the uses of European money and maps. How do her various coping mechanisms shed light on her character?

7. Aminata longs for her home. What is the meaning of home in the novel, and how does the meaning change as the novel progresses?

8. What does the novel tell us about survival? Which characters fare best and why?

9. As Aminata moves from slavery to freedom, she finds that freedom is sometimes an empty promise. At what points in the novel did you feel this was true? Did it change how you thought about the meaning of freedom?

10. Aminata is a woman of extraordinary abilities—she is skillful with languages, literate, a speedy learner, a born negotiator. Why did Hill choose this story to be told by such a remarkable woman? What effect do her abilities have on the shaping of the story?

11. What do you think would be the challenges involved in writing a realistically painful novel that still offers enough light and hope to maintain the reader's interest and spirit?

12. What lessons does Aminata's tale hold for us in today's world?

1. I bought the Canadian publication, 'The Book of Negroes,' because I loved the cover. After reading the book and gaining some context, I thought the US title was dead on and I like it much better. I was moved by the calling of the names, if I remember correctly, I think they did this anytime someone was thrown overboard. Even the game they played where they learned everyone's names. It was also moving to me .

Also I'm not sure how we lost the tradition of giving names with meaning. Although I guess this book doesn't deal with the meaning of the name as much as the knowing of the name.

BET screens miniseries ‘Book of Negroes’ at the National Archives

The “Book of Negroes” — a historical document dating from 1783 that lists the names of more than 3,000 slaves and free black people who were loyal to the British during the Revolutionary War — was on display Thursday night at the National Archives. It sat in a glass case as a screening of BET’s epic miniseries “The Book of Negroes” was held in an adjoining room.

Here is the link to the article and the pics
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/lo...