47 by Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley is best known for his mystery stories (Devil in a Blue
Dress, Bad Boy Brawley Brown) but he has also written some excellent
science fiction books (Blue Light and The Wave). In his first foray
into young adult literature he has written a unique story that combines
mythology with historical and science fiction.
47 is a slave in antebellum America. His master is vicious and
conditions in the slave quarters are brutal. Mosley makes the reality
of slave life more vivid than any history book or even any novel I can
remember. 47 struggles to survive until a mysterious new slave appears.
Tall John, like High John the Conquerer of African-American mythology,
comes from far away (“beyond Africa”) and has strange powers. He tells
47 that he has been searching for him because 47 is destined to lead his
people out of bondage. Tall John also teaches 47 that he has a destiny
to fulfill in a wider struggle against evil.
Mosley ably show not only the depths of human depravity and the
incomprehensible brutality of slavery but the strength of the human
spirit and how, in many of the characters, kindness and dignity survive
despite the violence and degradation. Though there is nothing
gratuitous, this is not a book for the squeamish. Recommended for
mature middle school readers and high school students.
--
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Tony Doyle, Librarian
Livingston High School, Livingston, CA
tdoyle@muhsd.k12.ca.us
<Http://www.lhs.muhsd.k12.ca.us/library/index.htm>
"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get
people to stop reading them."-- Ray Bradbury
"One of the standard problems with the universe is that it's large
enough that unlikely things happen pretty often."--Nigel Sharp, U.S.
National Science Foundation
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