Review: The Book of Night Women by Marlon James
Title: The Book of Night Women
Author: James, Marlon
Length: 408 pages
Genre: Fiction, History
Publisher / Year: Riverhead Books / 2010
Source: Indigo
Rating: 5/5
Why I Read It: Our third read for The Real Help project.
Date Read: 05/10/11
Note: This is a project initiated by Amanda and I to read the books recommended by the Association of Black Women Historians as alternatives to The Help. Please see the dedicated page I created for more information and for a schedule. We are hoping that more readers join us and we are also looking for others to host discussions. For discussion of this title, read on below! I am the discussion leader for this title.
In this book James transports the reader back to late 1700s Jamaica, and gives us the story of Lilith. Lilith’s mom died giving birth to her and so she is raised by another slave, Circe. Lilith is mulatto, and born with green eyes and a spirit that is impossible to tame. It is the eyes that set her out from the other slaves, but it is her spirit that gets her noticed and dictates much of what happens through her life.
The book is set in a location where there is a heavy Creole presence but also a large English population, and the English are quite disdainful of the Creole and the French because their countries are of course at odds. The population of Jamaica has over thirty slaves per free white person and that has both the English and French working together in an uneasy truce in order to keep the calm, in a land where rebellions seem to occur every few years like clockwork. Another slave, the most powerful on the plantation, is working to bring Lilith into just such a rebellion plot, insisting that she is perfect for it because of the darkness inside of her.
Lilith herself isn’t sure what will benefit her and what will really help others. Through her views and actions we see that doing the right thing isn’t always easy, and sometimes the right thing can seem wrong. Through her actions we see that there are always repercussions and that events don’t happen in isolation but rather always affect other events. We also see that the slaves and masters had very different ideas of right and wrong and what was moral or not, and watching Lilith try to navigate these ideas and morals and decide for herself was really empowering. There is no easy answer or way to judge her or any of her actions, they can all be taken in a number of ways varying from great to terrible.
Through Lilith’s life we see the effect of being mulatto played out in her life. In many ways she was just another slave like any other, but in other ways she was both blessed and cursed. She was considered beautiful by some and thus subjected to rape and assault. But she was also protected in some ways from the harshest jobs out in the fields. Unlike A Million Nightingales which makes so clear the dangers of working in the house and why it wasn’t always the blessing we consider it now, James in this book uses the standard distinction that being out of the fields and in the house is always good. Saying that, however, an attentive reader definitely can’t miss the dangers of the house as they crop up and are treated almost as normal occurrences and something that isn’t much to put up with. This was both disturbing and effective – I think it highlighted the subtle levels of variation in dangers and how no place was really safe, and what seemed safe wasn’t always once you were in it.
Lilith herself grows and matures interestingly, focusing on love as she has been taught to read it (by another slave woman) in an English book. This leads her to fantasize about romance and escape from her life in a way that she knows can never truly come true. Her relationship in the latter part of the book was really interesting and also disturbing. The power dynamics were certainly a cause for concern and made it difficult to read, but James really highlighted how feelings and emotions can get involved but how power structures, when so unequal, will always come into play. I think this is something that has real relevance to life throughout the world any time such unequal power structures exist.
James’ writing itself was captivating and beautiful. It took a few pages to really catch on to the dialect used, but once acquired it really flowed well and you could imagine being there. The interplay between the various racial groups and their different dialects was really interesting as well – especially Miss Isobel, when she would switch back and forth. I liked how he really highlighted the importance of language and of that facade that people would use or create to signify power or high class. He also used repetition in a way that keeps the story moving and keeps drawing it together as well, to make it bigger than it is.
Every negro walk in a circle. Take that and make of it what you will.
That phrase is repeated numerous times at the beginning of new sections or chapters and was a really effective way of drawing in new insights and facts and leading the story in a new way.
In particular relation to our The Real Help project, I’m interested in how so far the two fiction books that we’ve read have both been set so far in the past and have dealt with the evils of slavery as opposed to the time just after slavery and the early civil rights movement when The Help is actually set. Personally I think it is incredibly important to get the history behind the time when the book is set to fully understand why it is offensive to many the way The Help portrays the women. What do others think? Do you think it is possible to view events without the accompanying lens of history?
I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy a good story and who are interested in history, race, slavery, class, and more. Definitely an author I will be watching for more from. This is a book that will make you think and keep you thinking for some time to come. Don’t forgot to also check out Amanda’s post, though be warned – it contains many spoilers!
It’s an extraordinary book, isn’t it? I too found the relationship in the last part of the book to be especially interesting—such a complex depiction of the power structures and how they harm everyone involved and make what could be a good thing into something terrible.
Yes, the power structures really made the relationship just so disturbing. It was so hard to read Teresa. But so extraordinary you are right.
Haha, yes, my post is like spoilers r us! I couldn’t help myself. Too much to discuss!
I also found it interesting how this book switched back to the house being preferable, however, we do need to remember that this is Jamaican sugar cane fields, not the American south. I distinctly remember in my history classes being informed that Jamaican plantations had the highest death rate of slaves. I suppose when those are your options, even rape is preferable.
Yes, definitely a lot to discuss Amanda
And I think the setting makes it different but also if you read closely you can see the many different perils in the house too. Nothing was ever sugar coated.
It does take a little while to adjust to dialect in books like this, but it’s almost always worth it. This sounds like a winner!
Yes, definitely worth picking it up Kathy!
I enjoy dialect in books. It can be difficult, but it’s feels so authentic (not that I would know, obviously).
Haha I showed this book to some coworkers and one commented that she’d “need coffee” to be able to read the dialect. Personally, I adjusted to it quite quickly. Getting used to no quotation marks took much longer!
Yes, it does make it seem more authentic though yes, not like I can tell either Trisha!
I wonder if Marlon James is Jamaican? I’d love to know as I’ve been reading books by people from the island where I was raised!
The inside of the book says he’s from Jamaica and now splits up his time between the midwest, NYC, and Jamaica.
Yes, he is Jamaican Harvee
Not sure if this is one for me Amy but I like this project and reading you reviews ,this reminds me of a interview I heard with andrea levy about her research process for the long song which I think is set same time as this book and how little there was out there written by the slaves and most was secondary sources such as missonaries or slave owners ,such a bad time hard to imagine the slaves lives so terrible ,all the best stu
Yes really hard to imagine how terrible it really was isn’t it Stu? I am looking forward to reading The Long Song at some point, it is on my shelf. Have you read it?
This sounds like an amazing book. Many thanks to you and Amanda for bringing it to our attention!
You are most welcome Ana
This is a book that I remember hearing a bit about some time ago, and I remember thinking that I wanted to read it. Your review has only reinforced that feeling for me, and I am eager to grab a copy. It sounds like the book really digs deeply into the plight of Lilith and the others like her. This was a really great and comprehensive review. This book is going to jump to the top of my “need” list. Thanks for sharing this!
I hope you are able to find a copy zibilee, and I hope you get a lot out of it. I’d say enjoy but I’m not sure it can really be called that. A difficult but also fantastic read.
This sounds great! I must check this out. Great review!
Yes really fantastic Kailana! I highly recommend it.
I’ve put this on my wish list after reading your and Amanda’s reviews. It sounds fantastic and the cover is so very striking (not to judge by the cover, but in this case, I am judging positively).
Yes, it is always hard not to judge by covers Aarti! And this one is pretty great!
This sounds exquisite. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Amy.
You are most welcome Stephanie!
I have not read this book. But I loved James’ Jim Crow’s Devil. He is certainly a novelist to watch. I like that the project is giving a sense of how slavery and the treatment of slaves varied from region to region. It appears then that the treatment of slaves in the Caribbean was probably more brutal than in the US. The frequency of rebellion crops up a lot in fiction dealing with slavery in the tropics. In Jamaica, for instance, slaves would runaway into the hills. They would never be caught. In Haiti also, there quite a number of rebellions. For more on Haiti, i really recommend CLR James’ The Black Jacobians. Yes, it is important to look at history. Always. Also, about doing the “right” thing. It’s easy for us to see the issues clearly at this great distance and knowing all the change that has happened since those times. But it really can’t have been that easy and straightforward as rebel, rebel, rebel. From your review, it seems that Lilith worried about what to do. I always wanted to read this book. Now more so, after your review. Thanks.
Yes, in my history classes we learned that Jamaica was the absolute worst place to be a slave. Worst treatment and earliest deaths. Obviously being a slave is always bad, but Jamaica was like the inner-most circle of hell.
I really want to read his other book as well Kinna. I definitely recommend this. As you say, Jamaica was much more brutal with many more rebellions, but Lilith really shows that rebelling wasn’t always as easy as it sounds.
This is one that I’ve eyed many times. I like what you’ve said about his use of repetition, which can be so powerful when you connect with it. And I also find the idea of Lilith’s struggle with the gap between romance-as-she-understood-it-on-the-page with the reality of it very interesting.
As for your history question, I do like to have a sense of understanding across a wider framework of time, although also across other spans (e.g. across classes, or across geographic borders). As I’m sure you’ve found with this project of yours, it doesn’t take long for one book TBR to become 10 and those ten to become 100 and …
I have been noticing repetition more in a few different books this year and really enjoying it BuriedInPrint. You are right, so powerful. And you are right – the tbr just gets taken over completely when trying to get a sense of framework. Difficult
Thank you for providing me with the link to this one, Amy. I remember being entranced by the look and sound of ‘The Book of Night Women’ when it hit local shelves, but for some reason or other, didn’t pick it up (maybe I was trying to encourage myself not to spend 99% of my earnings on books, ha!). I particularly like the powerful names of the female characters — Lilith and Circe, and perhaps there are others in the book waiting to be discovered.
Given that Caribbean history is crucial to way in which I perceive so many things, I can’t see how I would stay away from this book for too long. I love how comprehensive your review of this title is, and look forward to reading all the suggested books for this amazing project.
Thanks for reading and for your comment Shivanee
I’m still jealous to know that you’ve gotten to meet the author. I find it impossible not to spend almost all of my earnings on books so completely understand. Am trying my best to be good this year!
Would love to hear your thoughts on this one so do let me know if and when you pick it up!