Andrew Kesterson

"Love God. Live Righteously. Die Well."
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# Copper Sun

2023-11-05 Books 554 words

Rating: 7/10
Amazon Link: click here
TL;DR A story of slavery and freedom, love and loss, black and white, stereotype and surprise, spanning from the African bush to the American south.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect much going into this book. As a white male in the south, I’m used to getting beaten over the head about racism and slavery and the way things were. I’m used to those beatings having no nuance, no subtlety, and no appreciation of all sides of history, and just focusing on the one single side where the beating was coming from that day. And since the recommendation came from someone who said they read the book when they were in school, I was expecting a particularly juvenile and simplistic version of that beating.

I’m happy to report that Copper Sun defied my expectations in most regards. Copper Sun follows the story of Amari, from her village in Africa where she lives, through her capture by other tribesmen and european slave traders, to her sale to an English plantation owner, to her escape and her eventual arrival at newfound freedom. It tells the story of how other tribes in Africa took part in the capture and sale of slaves for their own benefit, even among tribes who had been friendly and had good trade relations. It tells the story of being aboard a slave ship for months, and the terrors that occurred there, but shows moments of kindness and mercy from unlikely places. It tells of how she met Polly, a young white girl who was also a slave, though under a different name - an indentured servant, a person who is enslaved for a debt, in this case an unfair debt inherited from her parents. The story follows the two as they come to know and respect each other, each moving past their initial prejudices to form new relationships. It speaks of the brutality of some slave masters, and the gentility of others, while acknowledging the grand injustice that slaves they all still were. It tells the story of masters sexually abusing slaves, and of slaves falling in love with masters - and the tragedy that came from both. It tells of desperate bids for freedom, and help that comes from the most unlikely of places. It showcases the many different kinds of people you would find on the early American frontier - at least, within the European scope - and tells of how some spirits would never truly succumb to slavery, while others would be thoroughly broken by it.

Copper Sun definitely uses plenty of stereotypes, but I don’t think they were egregious or damaging to anyone or to the story. Like I say, stereotypes exist for a reason. But even the stereotyped characters had some good depth to them, and one of the antagonists, Master Clay, was a surprisingly sympathetic character at times - but only a few.

Overall I’d say this one is a 7/10. If you have time and it pops up, give it a read or a listen. It might make you ask some new questions, or give you some new perspective. It may open old wounds or bring back bad memories, too, so keep that in mind. But I’d say this story is worth it.

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