Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Marassa and Midnight - Review - Pt.3

Critique
I think that ‘Marassa and Midnight’ is an exciting account of the slave revolution in Haiti. The fact that it is told round the lives of two little slave boys ensures that the reader becomes actually involved. The slave revolt in Haiti may well be something which young readers have not heard about before, but the book is written in such a way that one can understand it without any prior historical knowledge.
This novel is truly one of excitement, and pure anticipation, that will keep you guessing until the end. It warmed my heart when the twins reunited in the end, and it was revealed that Papa Doctor was their uncle, the father of their brother, as I am sure it will to any reader. What truly warmed my heart was the unmistakable love that the twins shared for each other. It was remarkable how hard they tried to find each other, and how much each suffered. When Marassa branded himself so he could be just like Midnight, it really showed you how much he missed his twin.
Many children, adults as well, will no doubt identify with Marassa and Midnight, as I have been able to. I have grown, while reading the ten or so chapters in this novel, to care for the twins.
The true cruelty of slavery is clearly brought out but so is the horror of the revolt, showing that white slave owners were cruel, but Negro slaves could be cruel too, shown when they mercilessly killed the white Bekes; these were the bad Negroes.
One negative point I must state, however, is that the story was very “drawn out”, so to speak. The author took an extremely long time to reunite the twins, and when they were finally reunited, the story was cut short. The story should have been extended to tell what happens after the twins were reunited, and how the French Revolution ended. Also, some parts of the story were difficult to interpret, especially as the end result was not made very clear.

I do not have a favourite character; however I especially liked Midnight because I came to care for him very much because of how much he grieved for Marassa. He was left all alone in Haiti with no one to comfort him, and I felt very sorry for him. I also liked him because he was very clever, reminding me of myself. However, I tended to gravitate towards Marassa more, because he was not as fierce and forward as his twin, he was more polite and obedient.
Although this genre of novels, historical fiction, is not one of my favourites, Marassa and Midnight’s tale is one well worth reading, and I rate this novel a nine and a half out of ten.