Review: Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston

Barracoon was my most anticipated read of 2018 and I can’t believe that the time for the books release has finally arrived. This book and story was absolutely incredible and left me with so many thoughts and feelings.

In Hurston’s introduction she states, “All these words from the seller, but not one word from the sold. The Kings and Captains whose words move ships. But not one word from the cargo. The thoughts of the ‘black ivory’, the ‘coin of Africa’, had no market value. Africa’s ambassadors to the New World have come and worked and died, and left their spoors, but no recorded thought.” To think that OUR stories have been told by the oppressor but not from the mouths of our very own (until now) is simply mind blowing.

Kossola and his history has easily become one of my favorites so far. Although it was a primary reason for not being published for so long, I loved that Hurston kept the dialect as he spoke it. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook as I turned the pages of this historical piece and followed along. Robin Miles did an impeccable job bringing this story to life. “You unnerstand me” has easily become my favorite phrase of the entire book.

This being one of the first slavery books I’ve had the chance to read, it left me wanting to know more. Africans people being sold by their own people and stolen from their homeland is a concept that still seems unreal to me. It’s nice to hear a story from the perspective of the stolen and his account of how it happened, hashing out the details (as he remembers it) of the journey that brought him to American soil.

Overall, I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. My only complaint is that I wished there had been more to it. This was my first Zora Neale Hurston piece and I look forward to reading more of her works in the near future (starting with ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God).