I really wanted to love this one! Instead, let's call it "ok".
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins is a historical fiction about a Jamaican slave brought over to England by her master and gifted to a couple as a house maid. When the couple is murdered Frannie is the one who is accused, but is she the one responsible? I was really into this book at the beginning. After a bit of foreshadowing about the murders, the book begins with a focus on Frannie's childhood in Jamaica. I found this part quite interesting as I don't know very much about slavery and colonization in Jamaica, or really anywhere other than the US, Canada and Australia.
Right from the beginning you can tell that the author wanted to focus on race as a construct and norm in the 1800s, a part of the story that is phenomenally well done. From the way that other characters speak to Frannie, to her own changing speech pattern, there is definitely a lot of thought that went into just the vocabulary and colloquialism. This idea of being owned and freedom (or a lack there of) is also well developed throughout the story. Frannie considers why she didn't flee when she had a chance and questions whether or not it is possible to be owned in a land where supposedly all are free (England). These concepts and descriptions of race during this time period were a huge part of why I did not abandon this book. I saw a comment on a review on goodreads (when I think about abandoning a book I always read a bunch of reviews trying to convince myself I should finish it) that said the book was supposed to be kind of slow because it is really showing how crappy Frannie's life was. I get that, and I agree, there definitely was a need for some of the slower parts of the story to really work through who Frannie was and the awful life she was forced into, but does a book have to be boring for you to believe that the main character's life sucked?
But the next 80 pages or so dragged and I struggled to keep focus. Then the skimming began and once the skimming takes place the thought of abandoning takes hold. I'll be honest, I got through most of it. I wish I could say I got through the entire book, but there are too many books to get through every one that isn't your favourite. I love what Sara Collins was trying to do. I wish that it could have been a book I fell in love with, but it wasn't that for me. 3/5 stars for this one from me!
Comentarios