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S'està carregant… The East Indiande Brinda Charry
Asia (108) S'està carregant…
Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. This is historical fiction at its best. An unnamed East Indian boy is given the name Tony by a Christian priest and then finds himself an orphan but this mother's lover finds him a place as a servant to a man going to London who dies before reaching England. Although a pre teen, Tony manages to survives on the streets and docks of London by working. Although desperately wanting to return to India, he finds himself on a ship headed for America along with two other young goys: Dick and even younger Sammy. The trip is brutal and they become indentured servants in Jamestown working for a cruel Mr. Ganter. There are scenes which are horrifying, scenes that are funny, but all are believable and seem to be accurate to the times. Other characters appear such as Mad Marge who was on the ship with them, a doctor who reluctantly takes Tony underwing and teaches him healing skills, and Lydia, a black slave. Throughout the story, Tony is neither black or white or American Indian and no one can figure how where he came from or what race he is. The story leaves on a somewhat happy ending skipping to the future so one knows the fate of Tony. A really interesting read and a side of history I had not read. Set in the 17thC, an exciting historical adventure story based on the life of a real person, the first East Indian to set foot on American soil. Tony travels from the Coromandel coast, to the streets of London and then on to Virginia in the New World in the hope of a new life. He makes friends and enemies along the bumpy ride of a way. This is an imaginative and evocative tale with some fascinating and well drawn characters. I liked Tony and enjoyed following him on his journey. It’s not always a happy story and it’s quite dark at times, but still there is a smattering of hope throughout. It’s beautifully written, well researched and has some vivid and colourful descriptions, quite easy to visualise. I read this via the Pigeonhole app over ten days and was eager to read each stave. An absorbing and powerful read.
If the above makes the novel sound like some dry history text, please let me disabuse you of that notion. Charry's most remarkable feat with this novel is that she wears her enormous learning and research lightly throughout. Her cinematic worldbuilding ensures spectacle and substance as it sweeps us along the Coromandel coast, London streets, and the Virginian countryside. The characters are detailed with care and attention so that we find humanity even in the worst of them. Tony's voice, in first-person point of view, is earnest and endearing, especially when he is filled with wonder about human biology, the beauty and curative qualities of various plants and flowers, and the powerful mystery of falling in love.....Through this fictional first East Indian immigrant story, Brinda Charry has also beautifully pioneered a much-needed path forward into rich, new literary territory. This sweeping story about an Indian boy sold into servitude in 1630s Virginia is packed with fascinating insights into dislocation and colonialism...Charry’s eye for detail doesn’t just add colour; it reveals a world in which commerce and colonialism have uprooted countless men and women....By bringing a character from history’s margins and placing him centre stage, Charry shows the human impact of these great forces, in a book of fascinating research and measured rage.
"Meet Tony: insatiably curious, deeply compassionate, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the British East India Company's outpost on the Coromandel Coast to the teeming streets of London, young Tony finds himself in Jamestown, Virginia, where he and his fellow indentured servants--boys like himself, men from Africa, a mad woman from London--must work the tobacco plantations. Orphaned and afraid, Tony initially longs for home. But as he adjusts to his new environment, finding companionship and even love, he can envision a life for himself after servitude. Set during the early days of English colonization in Jamestown, before servitude calcified into racialized slavery, The East Indian gives authentic voice to an otherwise unknown historic figure and brings the world he would have encountered to vivid life"-- No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — S'està carregant… GèneresClassificació Decimal de Dewey (DDC)823.92Literature English English fiction Modern Period 2000-LCC (Clas. Bibl. Congrés EUA)ValoracióMitjana:
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Highly recommended, and based on a true story . ( )