Will I love The Long Song?

Who decides how history is written? Andrea Levy raises this question in her epic novel about Jamaican slavery and its aftermath. An older woman named July writes the narrative of her life so that her son and his children will know her story.

She was born enslaved, and she recounts everyday indignities and violence, rivalries among enslaved household workers, and attempts to find love and connection in a society that denies humanity to the enslaved. Writing with humor and generosity, Levy imagines a world that is obscured by official histories written by enslavers.

July’s story and her struggles to narrate… show more.

Levy takes us to the transition between slavery and emancipation, if not true freedom. The focus is again on the female experience and the main character is herself the outcome of a sexual assault by a White plantation overseer. 

I truly loved this book. Although there is plenty of pain and suffering here, Levy skillfully injects humour into the character’s outlook and gives us glimpses of the nascent strength and richness that became Jamaican culture. Some of my closest female friends come from this stock of talented people. I see and feel their joy and success as it triumphs over… show more.