Esi Edugyan Washington Black

SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018 WINNER OF THE GILLER PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2020 FINALIST FOR THE CARNEGIE MEDAL AND THE ROGERS WRITERS TRUST FICTION PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE 2019 New York Times Top Ten Book of the Year 2018 Sunday Times Paperback of the Year 2019 'A masterpiece' Attica Locke 'Strong, beautiful and beguiling' Observer 'Destined to become a future classic . . . that rare book that should appeal to every kind of reader' Guardian When two English brothers take the helm of a Barbados sugar plantation, Washington Black - an eleven-year-old field slave - finds himself selected as personal servant to one of them. The eccentric Christopher 'Titch' Wilde is a naturalist, explorer, scientist, inventor and abolitionist, whose single-minded pursuit of the perfect aerial machine mystifies all around him. Titch's idealistic plans are soon shattered and Washington finds himself in mortal danger. They escape together, but then Titch disappears and Washington must make his way alone, following the promise of freedom further than he ever dreamed possible.

Inspired by a true story, Washington Black is an extraordinary tale of a world destroyed and made whole again. Washington Black is a profoundly humane story about false idols, the fickleness of fortune and whether a slave, once freed, can ever truly be free. * The Times * A lush, exhilarating travelogue reminiscent of Jules Verne . . . Edugyan, like her hero, can paint an indelible scene * New Yorker * A full-pelt adventure story featuring hot-air balloon crashes, blizzards in the Arctic, scientific discovery, knife fights in dark alleys, bounty hunters and forbidden romance * Sunday Times * Washington Black is a brilliantly absorbing picaresque; a book that combines the unflinching depiction of violence with a lyrical, hallucinatory beauty. -- Sandra Newman Wondrous .

. . gripping . . . vivid and captivating * Economist * Magnificent and strikingly visual prose * Financial Times * Washington Black is a gripping adventure and an atmospheric portrayal of 1830s society at both the fringes of the world and the heart of the British Empire -- John Boyne A pacey yet thoughtful exploration of freedom, and our moral compulsion to act * Spectator * Exquisite -- Boris Kachka * New York Magazine * An engrossing hybrid of 19th-century adventure and contemporary subtlety, a rip-roaring tale of peril imbued with our most persistent strife . . .