Tweleve Years a Slave

While reading this novel, I often thought nigh what I learned about slavery in school and the many films Ive perkn on the subject, most notably, the television series Roots , which is probably most of our starting visual representation of a slaves life but I thought, Noooo, they got it wrong Slavery was 50 times worst than any representation Ive ever seen on a film. Solomon Northup, was a free born, African America man living in New York state in the early 1800s. He had a wife, lead children, and was able to provide for his family working various jobs, depending on the season. Solomon is kidnapped and forced into slavery for 12 years, in the deep south. What makes this novel so compelling is his story telling.He goes into great detail explaining what is feels like to be a slave the constant state of fear ( scared of waking up late, scared of not working fast enough, scared of being in the wrong place at the wrong time if your master is in an angry mood), the whippings (which h appened more often than I originally thought), the ferine labor, the little food (yet being forced to work at 100% at all times with little nourishment), and the depressing feeling of being unconnected from your family (being sold to another master was the worst nightmare of most slaves, more fearful than the whip).His prose paints a clear picture of what it feels like to be a slave. I highly recommend this non-fiction novel (did I mention, this is a TRUE story) to any and everyone interested in American or African American history. This novel is shortly being made into a film by director Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender.I have to admit, I am very eager to see this film (its slated for release Sept. 6, 2013) because Im curious to see if they will be true to the original work, and go hard and showcase slavery in its most venomous form, even if it will make audiences uncomfortable, because as time goes on, I think we fo rget how truly horrible an institution slavery was.