Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Piled on my desk are dozens of lists.  Lists of reminders, things to do at work, things to do at home, errands to run, and what to pick up during those errands.  I also keep a "To Read" list.  Because I have always held a strong affection for pretty paper and smooth pens and also hold a panic-induced anxiety for all things technological, my lists are handwritten on small pieces of paper.  You won't catch me keeping notes on an iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, or an electronic day planner because it would take me longer to figure out how to turn the darn thing on than it would for me to find a piece of paper and a pen.  That's why I'm the crazy lady clogging the aisle of the library or the bookstore while digging through my purse for the crumbled sheet of rough-edged notebook paper containing an unalphabetized list of books that I'd like to read.

Somehow, someway this book made my To Read List.  I don't remember who or what source provided me with the recommendation.  But it was on my list and it was available in the library.  That was good enough for me.

Someone Knows My Name is the fictional story of a woman named Aminata Diallo.  Abducted from her home in Africa, she is brought to America where she is bought and sold into slavery.  She moves from South Carolina to New York, makes a daring escape to Nova Scotia, finds herself back in Africa, and finally arrives in London.  She learns how to read and write four different languages and eventually begins to work with white abolitionists.  Throughout her experiences she notices that few people even know her full name or choose to use it; and she comes to value the purpose and meaning of a name and the legacy it provides.

I enjoyed this book and was happy to read it but didn't find it to be the gripping tale of a woman who triumphs over her tragedies that I had hoped it to be.  I wanted it to be like Frederick Douglass's story (which is non-fiction) but from a female perspective.  The subject matter was certainly interesting to me and it brought to light many events in history that I had not known about.  However, some of Aminata Diallo's experiences and twists of fate seemed so over the top for that particular time period that I find it hard to believe that something like that could ever have happened.  I realize that this is fiction and anything could happen in a piece of fiction.  But this is supposed to be realistic fiction (emphasis on the word realistic).

Someone Knows My Name will certainly not go on my list of favorite books, but I would recommend it if you have the time to read it.

Books that do make my list of favorites ~
Highly-recommended books to read in honor of Black History Month:

     *  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass
     *  The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
     *  The Color of Water by James McBride
     *  The Help by Kathryn Stockett