Middle Passage

In 1830, Rutherford Calhoun, a newly freed slave, thief, and cad, wanted to escape Creole, gangster, bill collector, Zeringue, and marrying Bostonian schoolteacher, Isadora Bailey. Rutherford had arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana a year earlier from southern Illinois. He thought the city had beautiful demi-mondaines aplenty in every hue; it was his kind of town, full of excitement. Marriage to a schoolteacher was the farthest thing from his mind.Rutherford’s only chance of escape from Isadora and Zeringue was to become a cook aboard a ship, the Republic, bound for Guinea, to purchase African slaves. He hoped his absence would dissuade Isadora and his creditors forgetting he existed.Aboard the Republic was a vile, heartless, shrewd dwarf, Captain Ebenezer Falcon, whose byword was Never Explain and Never Apologize. Falcon had no difficulty running the ship and keeping his motley crew of rapist, murderers and scalawags in line. They all had secrets, and Falcon accepted Rutherford as assistant cook to First Cook, Squibb.In the costal trading post at Bangalang, Falcon bought the mysterious Allmuseri tribesmen, thought by slave masters to be the best quality. He also purchased their god, kept in the hold, a deity considered telepathic. The crew blamed the deity and Allmuseri for the monstrous storms and later disintegration of the ship’s contents. Mutiny, cannibalism, and an unfurling of diseases, resulted in deaths. Even Rutherford had a meltdown after coming face-to-face with the deity.Although irresponsible, Rutherford is smart, articulate and engaging. He found seafaring disturbing and restricting. He missed the mischievousness and pleasure of his vice, stealing, and the very thought of stealing gave him a ‘tingle,’ “...as if I was slipping inside another’s soul.” He stole doubloons from Falcon and read his journal, discovering a man who sacrificed spiritual values for power and material gain, unlike his first mate, Northerner, Cringle, a man of integrity who believed in fairness and toward the end self-sacrificing.Rutherford appears to have enormous internal conflict concerning anger with his brother, his former slaver, from whom he received a humanist education, and his father for allegedly deserting the family. Added to the conflict was being loyal to his shipmates, but the sorrow felt for the Allmuseri chained in the hold. He became friend to Allmuseri, Ngonyama, one who readily learned English. Rutherford realized the joy in the Allmuseri’s lives had diminished, as would their ancient traditions and beliefs. He also realized what he had once enjoyed: women, expensive suits, the latest stage plays, wins at gambling, and parties was nothing new under the sun. Rutherford’s trip to Africa would be far worse than marriage to Isadora.Although I did not like the climax, the book is engrossing with vibrant characters, told in first person and, at times, in narrative. The similes, metaphors, and imageries are exceptional. Sometimes Rutherford is incoherent, a cue of his emotions. At this point, the writer’s work is deep and thought provoking. The book contains numerous words from sixteenth century Middle English and a battery of ship terminologies. As evidenced by his thoughts, Rutherford appeared to have studied under a learned and philosophical man. He considered Falcon a Faustian man. Rutherford used Greek words when describing characters as Icarian or Sisyphean, Parmenidean, and a smattering of Latin, such as causa sui. Make sure you have your dictionary handy. This novel is a good choice for book cIubs. I give the book 4.5 stars. The author served up a book with an unusual flavor.

Middle Passage is the wonderful story of a young black man who signs on to a slaving ship in the early 19th century in order to get away from some personal problems in America. It is a companion book to Johnson's An Oxherding Tale, also about a young black man in early 19th century America whose life takes a surprising turn after he escapes from slavery in the south.

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I owned a paper copy that I read about a decade ago. Loaned it to someone and of course never got it back. So I required this as reading in my African American history course so that I could read it again and share with my students. Charles Johnson is a great writer and the idea of a free black man, former slave, from the U.S. traveling to Africa on a slaving ship is intriguing. And the ending is great too.

This book is about a journey of self couched in the journey of a piratical slaving ship with a newly emancipated black protagonist. Johnson is a gifted writer, taking the reader through a rift in time so that 1830's America is present-day with all of its slang laminated with 19th century history. Clear references to Melville's Benito Cereno are throughout. The story is told in first person reflection, as if reading the ship's log. TIP: read with a pen since there's a lot to underline and comment on. Themes of identity, race relations, bondage and freedom, and values are explored in this novel. Lots of Hindu philosophy abuts American independence. It's an engrossing tale often teetering between repugnance and beauty. This book posits the eternal question: What is your treasure and what price are you willing to pay for it?

A great book full of humor and twists.

Middle Passage is extremely well written from the perspective of an American "Freed" black man.To flee debts and a woman, Calhoun stows away on a ship in New Orleans. He doesn't know the ship is going to Africa to transport slaves back to America.Calhoun's experiences, as a black man, seeing the treatment of other black men, women and children is poignant. As he gets to know the man chosen to be the slave's "ship leader", Calhoun realizes the kidnapped tribe members are actually superior in many ways.The writing is excellent. The characters come alive. I could "see and feel" what they were experiencing.Middle Passage is a book I will read over and over. There are so many lessons and "wow moments" that cannot be realized in just one or two readings.

Middle Passage is kind of fun, but you have to take some pretty grim and repelling imagery with it. Full of characters reminiscent of others in movies. And it does require a dictionary.Calhoun is a character a bit like Crocodile Dundee's black benefactor in New York. Largely innocent of serious evil, but possessing a definite sneakiness. He starts his story in New Orleans.Isadora is a cultured, mannered black woman of ample size who plans to entrap Calhoun into marriage and change him.Papa reminds me of Mr. Big from Bond's 'Live and Let Die', which has ties to New Orleans. And Papa has an enormous henchman named Santos, just like Mr. Big. There was a scene where he reminded me of Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld.Calhoun finds himself being blackmailed into matrimony to Isadora by this mix of characters. Too much. He flees the scene by stowing away on a slaver, unbeknowst as such to him.The tale that unfolds is dreadful. Neither crew nor slave is spared the atrocities of a gnomish Captain Bligh in the personage of Captain Falcon. And the vagaries of sailing the deeps in the 19th century.But fear not. This has a storybook ending.Depending on your own perspective, this can be downright maddening or humorous. How can one make light of the slave trade?I believe the writing sometimes dragged and sometimes had overlong sentences. But overall it was an enjoyable read.

I've read this book several years ago. Still good and holds interest. I've passed it to friends who also find subject matter and content captivating.