Book Review: The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings by Olaudah Equiano

In Olaudah Equiano's book, readers are given an opportunity to view slavery during the 18^th century from a perspective that is not commonly shared: that of a slave himself. Because many slaves of that time did not and could not receive proper education in reading and writing, Equiano's account is both interesting and meaningful for the reader to begin to understand the life of a slave. Equiano shares with the reader his experience in slavery, provides historical information and expresses the feelings and beliefs of both white and black people during his time. He wanted to not only share his experience, but wanted for the reader to come to an understanding of how unfair his struggles in life were due to slavery. He also hoped that his words would help to continue the abolishment movement in England.

At the time the first edition of his book was written (in 1789), many books and essays were being published to help spread the idea of abolishment in England. Equiano's book is especially meaningful because he understood that "what the opposition to the slave trade needed in 1789 was not another account of the Middle Passage by a white observer, but rather testimony from an enslaved African survivor of it." (p. xiv) Equiano was able to successfully do just that by recording his own of account of being sold into slavery multiple times, dealing with unjust masters, being subjected to unfair laws against blacks and eventually buying his own freedom, only to again run into a series of undeserved encounters and situations.

Although Equiano gives a wonderful account of his life, starting as a small child and ending well into his adult years, his narrative is slightly impaired by the occassional inaccuracy of dates and places. Throughout his narrative, Equiano states various series of events that he was witness to throughout his lifetime. The editor does an amazing job at pinpointing actual dates and places that these events actually occurred. At some points, Equiano is off on dates by just a few days. In other points, Equiano is off weeks, months or even years.