Review “Informed by history of a reviled and forgotten idiom, loving scholarship about the banjo, and the very passport to freedom of body and spirit, this beautiful writing finds echoes in conflicts that persist-envy, imitation, injustice, brutality, inequality-and ultimately offers hope. I urge you to read it for yourself.” (Elvis Costello, NYPL Book Recommendation) Read more From the Back Cover The author of City of Refuge returns with a startling novel of race, violence, and identity. The year is 1855. Blackface minstrelsy is the most popular form of entertainment in a nation about to be torn apart by the battle over slavery. Henry Sims, a fugitive slave and a brilliant musician, has escaped to Philadelphia, where he lives by his wits and earns money performing on the street. He is befriended by James Douglass—leader of the Virginia Harmonists, a minstrel troupe struggling to compete with dozens of similar ensembles—who senses that Henry's skill and magnetism could restore his show's sagging fortunes. The problem is that black performers are not allowed to appear onstage, even in Philadelphia. Together the two concoct a dangerous masquerade to protect Henry's identity, and he creates a sensation in his first appearances with the Harmonists. Yet even as the troupe's fortunes begin to improve, a brutal slave hunter named Tull Burton has been employed by Henry's former master to track down the runaway and retrieve him, dead or alive.A Free State is both a riveting chase novel and a searing parable of liberty and its costs. Charged with narrative tension and unforgettable characters, A Free State is a thrilling work by a novelist at the height of his powers. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
F**H
Vivid, Poignant and Authentic
This deceptively modest book, disguised as a picaresque tale, movingly captures the intertwined fear and exhilaration of life for a fugitive slave in 1850s Philadelphia, as well as the moral uncertainties and casual racism of whites who cross his path. Mr. Piazza, who is himself a musician, was inspired to frame this story against the vividly colorful syncopation of the minstrel shows that were immensely popular in the nineteenth century. His main character, Henry, an inspired banjo player finds temporary safety in a troupe of white black-face performers by blacking himself up and claiming to be a Mexican. In other hands, the absurdity of Henry's situation might have been laughable. In Mr. Piazza's, it is a deadly serious descent into the ambiguities of race and identity. The book's single weak spot is the demonically cliched slave hunter who dogs Henry's trail, a man whose unspeakable actions rather too obviously symbolize the fundamental barbarism of slavery. Apart from that, and occasionally some anachronistic language, Mr. Piazza has done his historical homework: the ambiance of antebellum Philadelphia, the world of minstrelsy, and the pulsating anxiety of a freedom-seeker on the run all ring true. He descriptions of minstrel performances are dazzling.
D**E
Insight into minstrelsy
The author does a fine job of delving into the world of minstrelsy, which has been a topic of some discussion in these times when the subject of blackface has been in the news. The characters are compelling and the story sadly believable.
L**T
Better each time you read
It is kind of like being on a train, starts slow and gradually gains speed until you want to read faster and faster, and then it ends and you think NO !!! Then you read a second time and the characters are like old friends and you still look forward to every page. The qualifications for a good book, in my opinion, is that you learn something new with every reading.
R**Y
Time well spent.
I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about Oregon’s laws regarding African Americans at statehood. Parts of the book were a little over dramatic , but still a good read.
A**R
Compelling & provocative
This is an incredibly well-written, riveting novel -- it somehow manages to be both fast-paced and deeply thoughtful at the same time. I couldn't put it down and I couldn't stop thinking about its ideas and implications. Though the subject is a dark and complex moment in our nation's history, the book and its characters feel vividly present, relevant, and alive.
B**M
Interesting and Compelling story
I did not know to expect from this book which has an interesting and different setting. I was very pleased with the book - it was a very good read. The author does a very good job of finding an ending that was fitting and not completely predictable.
L**E
Excellent reading
This was a great book, although it left me wanting so much more! I could have read at least a hundred more pages. Great characters and insight into their lives.
W**D
Nice portrayal of life in the minstrel / slavery era.
fun read.
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