The Long Song Book

4.25 stars
Following on from Small Island; this is another historical novel and this time Levy looks at her Jamaican roots charting the last days of slavery on the island. It is narrated by July, a former slave, and starts about 1831 the time of what was known as the Baptist revolt and goes to the end of slavery in the late 1830s. July is telling her story in old age whilst she is living with her son Thomas. The novel is the story of her early life on a plantation called Amity. Although narrated by July, it is edited by Thomas and there is a periodic interplay between the two which sometimes gives the story a slightly odd feel.
July describes herself as a mulatto; her father was white, an overseer and raped her mother. She was taken from her mother whilst still young to become the pet and then lady's maid to Caroline Mortimer, the vapid and foolish sister of the plantation owner. A new overseer, Robert Goodwin, arrives with good intentions and a Christian upbringing. He intends to show that following slavery the plantation can be managed on humane lines. The charting of his downfall on several levels is fascinating. He ends up being just as cruel as his predecessors. The story is weaved around actual historical events.
The telling of any story of slavery is going to be difficult and will contain horrors; and this certainly does. However, the character of July is irrepressible and injects a strong comic element into the novel. There is always a question here as to whether July is an entirely reliable narrator. This and the humour counterpoised with the background of slavery makes for an unusual feel. The humour is Pythonesque at times; at the same time reviewers have also described it as a Comedy of Manners. There is also a touch of Upstairs/Downstairs about it as we see the two worlds; slaves and masters running parallel.
The Jamaican setting gives a rather different feel to the American novels about slavery. In Jamaica the white population was very small and relative newcomers. This led to relationships on the plantations shifting in different ways; with both sides having the ability to harm each other.
This is a good novel with some well-drawn characters (especially July); it doesn't, for me have the power of books like Beloved and there are irritations with the structure. Nevertheless it is well worth reading for its particular focus on the women in the story.