The third back-to-back-to-back Canada Reads shortlist of the year. I started out really liking the book. It wasn’t quite as depressing as Scarborough or Five Little Indians, and had a good sense of adventure! The book follows Washington Black (Wash), a slave on a plantation in Barbados who is taken under wing by an eccentric inventor who goes by Titch. After an event that has Wash and Titch fearing for his life, they escape the island in a homemade flying device. This starts an epic journey all over the colonized world for Wash, who discovers his place in a world as a freed slave. 

This is the first book by Esi that I have read, but I loved her Massey Lectures in 2022. She is an excellent storyteller, and the imagery and pace of this book make a strong showing for that. Whether in the Arctic, Africville, England or Morocco, looking at the frozen arctic or the bright, lively wildlife of tidal pools, the reader is absolutely transported. The assorted characters that come and go from Wash’s life feel full and real. 

But that being said, I found the ending unsatisfying. It just ends, leaving the reader lost. Some people like it, some people do not. But I think even disliking it, I’d recommend the book to somebody to read.

From the perspective of being about “a book to connect us”, I think it is weaker than the other two I’ve read. The book has themes of connection, but in terms of connecting readers, I don’t think it does as strongly (except connecting readers on their opinion of the ending ;) ). Where the others I’ve read, I think there is a much stronger foundation for connection. The books are more current, and each is firmly placed in our current reality. I’m curious to see how these debates go and what the debater argues. It's a great book for those who like history and adventure, but it's not my top pick for Canada Reads.