DLR LIBRARY BLOG

The Long Song

by

Andrea Levy

Andrea Levy's fifth book The Long Song is a clever, consuming read worthy of its place on the Man Booker shortlist last year.

Set in Jamaica in the 19th century it tells the story of July, born into slavery on the sugar plantation of Amity and who eventually sees its abolition.

July's story loosely abides by some of the conventions of the slave narrative genre. The original slave narratives were the testimonies of freed slaves distributed by abolitionists and were a powerful propaganda tool. The true-life stories of ex-slaves such as Frederick Douglas and Mary Prince are, like The Long Song, riviteting and harrowing but because of their intended audience the slave narratives were restrained and formulaic. The Long Song as a work of fiction is not so reserved-in fact it's all energy and emotion.

Through July Levy explores how a bigoted and brutal system warps the attitudes and aspirations of those subjugated by slavery. The most depressing passage of the novel is July's description of how the colour of children can be "raised" through the generations so that " a mulatto who breeds with a white man will bring forth a quadroon; and a quadroon that enjoys white relations will give forth to this world a mustee; the mustee will beget a mustiphino and the mustiphino's child with a white man for a papa will find that each day...welcomes them with a smile,as they at last stride within this world as a cherished white person"(p187.)

Thus July, a mulatto, is ecstatic when her beauty brings her to the attention of the young new master at Amity. And for a time she gts a glimpse of her heart's desire only to lose it all in the most callous way, but despite it all July is determined to get her happy ending.

Levy manages to pull off the tricky manoeuvre of creating an occasionally unpleasant central character but keep you reading notheless. She does this by evoking a brutal environment in which one must draw on and develop their nefarious side in order to survive. In spite of July's flaws and the subject matter be assured this is not a miserable read. July's endless optimism, resilience and vivacity leads you to root for her throughout her long song.

Dympna Reilly