and someone you only feel an obligation towards. The book sets up terrific ethical conflicts such as choosing between saving oneself and saving someone else who you love.

Mosley heads off that risk by adding a science fiction character, Tall John, from another part of the universe who needs to learn about the realities of slavery while 47 (the unnamed slave who had his number branded into his shoulder) learns about the world beyond his plantation. It would be easy for those who read the book's opening to focus on old wrongs rather than valuing freedom to choose. be a free person who makes good moral judgments and does the right thing even under the worst circumstances. It's Uncle Tom's Cabin for the 21st century with a different message, be neither master nor slave. I enjoyed the book but I foolishly was expecting something like 'War and Peace.Making Slavery and Freedom Real Through Historical Fiction and Science FictionĤ7 is a delicate work that will make anyone identify with being a slave in pre-Civil War Georgia. If I hadn't expected something much more grand I would have given that fifth star. The narrator has an old scratchy voice but you soon get used to it and is evocative of a man who has seen too much strife and pain but who has not lost his capacity for joy. Kudos for an original idea! While the story does have an ending it seems like a possible set up for a series. I loved this character's maxim: 'Neither master nor nigga' be.' This character's overwhelming love for everyone and his naive belief that love and kindness will always be returned with gratitude is the most heartbreaking aspect of this bit of science fiction mixed with slavery. Then a very unexpected visitor arrives to change things. Still Mosely tells a basic but vivid story of the cruelty of slavery, how that meanness twists the hearts of men who should kind to each other because of their commond bonds (quite literally). This was recommended on NPR (National Public Radio) so my expectations were far too high (not having read any other reviews). Vice versa on a book/movie with expectations too high. When I think a movie is going to be junk and turns out to be a bit better I tend to rate it higher because I'm pleasantly surprised. A lot of how you enjoy a book or movie depends upon your prior level of expectation.

47 by Walter Mosley