The Long Song: Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2010: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize

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In her fifth novel, The Long Song (2010), she explores an earlier shared history of slaves (coloured) and slave owners (mostly white) in the sugar plantations of 19th-century Jamaica. THE AUTHOR OF SMALL ISLAND TELLS THE STORY OF THE LAST TURBULENT YEARS OF SLAVERY AND THE EARLY YEARS OF FREEDOM IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY JAMAICA She thankfully agreed. Then forsook the pleasures of cooking her cornmeal porridge, fish tea, and roasted breadfruit, of repairing and sowing our garments and other tasks which, in truth, were quite useful about our busy household, to put all her effort into this noble venture, this lasting legacy of a printed book. This is a terrific book: beautifully written and imagined, and full of surprises… A brilliant historical novel.” The Long Song” is a story about a woman named July, who writes a memoir about her life in Jamaica during its 19th century slave era. She is taken from her mother Kitty at the age of 9 by the request of the plantation owner’s sister Caroline Mortimer. July’s position at the main house on Amity Plantation as Caroline’s personal maid was full of hard work; her lessons learned during the early years were just as difficult, despite her escaping the laborious work and abuse associated with the sugar cane fields.

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Most disturbing of all, is that a major subplot was started and never again. Had this "event" happened to a real person, I can't imagine that they wouldn't give it further thought or mention. To end the story without even this significant subplot even a nod was grossly dissatisfying. It was a fine ambition from a noble old woman for whom many of her years were lived in harsh circumstance. This wish demanded respect. I liked the mother-daughter story about two women who grow up as slaves, and the cruel things they had to endure. In fact the first scene with Kitty, is what really drew me to the book. Later, Kitty's daughter, July (the main character) is introduced, along with Caroline (her mistress). The use of dialect added just enough spice to the book. Part of the book also captures the Emancipation Proclamation--a nicely added twist.Levy’s handling of slavery is characteristically authentic, resonant and imaginative. She never sermonises. She doesn’t need to – the events and characters speak loud and clear for themselves… Slavery is a grim subject indeed, but the wonder of Levy’s writing is that she can confront such things and somehow derive deeply life-affirming entertainment from them.’ beautifully written, intricately plotted, humorous and earthy… Those who enjoyed Small Island will love The Long Song, not just for the insights on the ‘wretched island’ , but as a marvel of luminous storytelling.”

The Long Song by Andrea Levy | Goodreads

The Long Song is one of those fiction books that provides a clearer picture of a particular historical era then any history book. In this case the time is the last years of slavery in Jamaica and the story unfolds from the viewpoint of a child born into slavery who lives through the end of slavery. Many of the characters in The Long Song subvert expectations. July is blunt, outspoken, and short-tempered. Others that work on the plantation often feign stupidity to the plantation owners - they place bed sheets onto dining tables while those who are accomplished musicians ruin dinner parties and embarrass their hosts. These characters are not simply reduced to their suffering. Discuss the point Levy is trying to make by developing such well-rounded and complex characters. A well-researched book that wears its scholarship lightly… An immensely readable and well-paced book.” mp_sf_list_1_description: Based on the award-winning novel by the late Andrea Levy (Small Island), the fictional story is inspired by Levy’s family history. Levy was born in England to Jamaican parents who arrived in Britain in 1948. “I’ve always used my books as a personal journey to understand my Caribbean heritage – and with that sooner or later you have to confront slavery,” Levy said. The story is told in retrospect by an older woman and (in very small part) by her son. The woman constantly moans about the son's insistence on using a recalcitrant ink pen and also his verbosity. The novel is certainly peppered with very funny/tragic moments. The scene where July's master dies is particularly funny when it shouldn't be.

I wanted there to be joy in this book; fun, as well. I had to tread a fine line. It was never going to be ‘Carry On Up the Plantation’, but also I didn’t want it to be just so harrowing that nobody could read it. I wanted a book that everyone could read and everyone could enjoy. But my mama began her life as a person for whom writing the letters ABC could have seen her put to the lash, for she was born a slave. The undertaking of committing her tale to words that might be read and set into printed form was, at first, quite alarming for her poor soul. She fretted, following me about the house and town to chatter at me of her anxiety of writing upon paper. She feared she would not have the skill to make herself understood in this form; and what if she were to make some mistake in its telling? Then surely it would be there, for ever and a day, for all to find amusement in her errors! I loved Levy’s narrative structure in this one, as she really makes you think about storytelling as an act and how much we can trust written accounts. It’s written as though July herself is writing a book of her life, and through sections ‘written’ by her son Thomas we can see how July might want to censor or alter her own narrative. The book you are now holding within your hand was born of a craving. My mama had a story—a story that lay so fat within her breast that she felt impelled, by some force which was mightier than her own will, to relay this tale to me, her son. Her intention was that, once knowing the tale, I would then, at some other date, convey its narrative to my own daughters. And so it would go on. The fable would never be lost and, in its several recitals, might gain a majesty to rival the legends told whilst pointing at the portraits or busts in any fancy great house upon this island of Jamaica. July is a mulatto, the daughter of Scottish overseer Tam Dewar, who raped Kitty, her slave mother. July enjoys giving us alternative accounts of her arrival in the world and Levy revels in storytelling itself, its sheer pliability. The memoir comes to its climax during the 10-day Baptist war in 1831 and the slave uprisings that followed. She makes you understand how chaotic and punitive this moment in history was, as well as liberating. Levy has researched the novel meticulously, but July has no desire to weigh herself down with any historical burden. Instead, she cheekily recommends that we do some homework ourselves but warns against a publication called Conflict and change. A view from the great house of slaves, slavery and the British Empire, observing: "… if you do read it and find your head nodding in agreement at this man's bluster, then away with you – for I no longer wish you as my reader."