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  • Washington Black

  • Written by: Esi Edugyan
  • Narrated by: Dion Graham
  • Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (874 ratings)

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Washington Black

Written by: Esi Edugyan
Narrated by: Dion Graham
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Publisher's Summary

A dazzling, original novel of slavery and freedom, from the author of the international best seller Half-Blood Blues

Longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize

When two English brothers arrive at a Barbados sugar plantation, they bring with them a darkness beyond what the slaves have already known. Washington Black - an 11-year-old field slave - is horrified to find himself chosen to live in the quarters of one of these men. But the man is not as Washington expects him to be. His new master is the eccentric Christopher Wilde - naturalist, explorer, inventor and abolitionist - whose obsession to perfect a winged flying machine disturbs all who know him. Washington is initiated into a world of wonder: a world where the night sea is set alight with fields of jellyfish, where a simple cloth canopy can propel a man across the sky, where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning - and where two people, separated by an impossible divide, can begin to see each other as human.

But when a man is killed one fateful night, Washington is left to the mercy of his new masters. Christopher Wilde must choose between family ties and young Washington's life. What follows is a flight along the eastern coast of America, as the men attempt to elude the bounty that has been placed on Washington's head. Their journey opens them up to the extraordinary: to a dark encounter with a necropsicist, a scholar of the flesh; to a voyage aboard a vessel captained by a hunter of a different kind; to a glimpse through an unexpected portal into the Underground Railroad. This is a novel of fraught bonds and betrayal. What brings Wilde and Washington together ultimately tears them apart, leaving Washington to seek his true self in a world that denies his very existence.

From the blistering cane fields of Barbados to the icy plains of the Canadian Arctic, from the mud-drowned streets of London to the eerie deserts of Morocco, Washington Black teems with all the strangeness of life. This inventive, electrifying novel asks, What is freedom? And can a life salvaged from the ashes ever be made whole?

©2018 Ides of March, Inc. (P)2018 Penguin Random House

Hear the Author Read an Excerpt

At Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize in Toronto on November 4, 2018, author Esi Edugyan read an excerpt from her novel Washington Black.
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Featured Article: Must-Listen Audiobooks by Outstanding Black Authors

It has taken too long, but the world is finally waking up to the incredible world of Black authors. Iconic names such as Octavia Butler, Zadie Smith, and Zora Neale Hurston have earned their spotlight onto the public sphere, while famous titles like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) and Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison) have rightly made ground in top lists the world over. Initiatives such as Black History Month have dragged race issues onto the world stage, while the literary landscape is filled with upcoming Black authors such as Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give), Tomi Adeyemi (Legacy of Orisha), Yaa Gyasi (Homegoing) and more. There is no excuse not to dig into the best audiobooks by Black authors, starting with the 10 listed below. Happy listening!

What listeners say about Washington Black

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Awesome!

The characters and story are alive , compelling and sweeping. An amazing experience. A tad of love, science and depravation as the world is struggling to mature. Timeless.

8 people found this helpful

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A stretch

I know this is a celebrated book and I wanted to love it. The adventures of a slave from boy to man is appealing. I will say I found the plot meandering and I didn’t understood the ending and I feel that there was a whole lot of cobbling bits together for it to make sense. Worst of all the accents of the performer are poorly done—the Scottish accent being virtually unrecognizable and at such a critical moment in the story! I wish audiobook producers would hire better directors. The performers and the listeners would benefit.

7 people found this helpful

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Great Read!

Didn't put it down. Highly recommend. If you like historical drama you'll love this novel.

4 people found this helpful

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Brilliant storytelling and narration

Esi Edugyan is an amazing writer. I loved “Half-blood Blues” and hew new novel - “Washington Black “ - is just as well-written. She creates characters that are complex and believable. And the story is engrossing, so much so that I had difficulty putting the book down (rather to stop listening!).
The narration was excellent! Dion Graham does a wonderful job of distinguishing characters and capturing the mood and energy of the story. My one critique is that sometimes the narration was too low in volume.

3 people found this helpful

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Lots left Unsaid,

Beginning Captivating, Middle fragmented, No real connection of the dots I found myself wondering the purpose of why we are still here. The Ending ....??

2 people found this helpful

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Perfect book for someone who spends a lot of time on the road

A beautifully written love story between a teacher and his pupil. Love of the highest and purest nature.
A long journey that takes the listener to many corners of the world - from blazing heat to blistering cold. On the journey the listener gets to know and better understand the dysfunctional characters

2 people found this helpful

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Favourite Book in a Decade

The author, Esi, created an in-depth plot and characters. This book is engaging and a must read! I highly recommend Washington Black.

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The ending ...

left too many unanswered questions. And was very unsatisfying to me. It was so well written and narrates for the end to be so disappointing.

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Well written and performed

A rich and moving account of how our lives impact one another in this excellent story. The narration is one of the best I’ve heard. Not to be missed.

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A riveting story well told!

The protagonist’s incredible journey was brought to life in every sense through the dramatic and engaging voice of the narrator. A riveting story well told!

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  • Abel
  • 2022-09-22

Weak leading character dragged around the story

Good intentions but it’s hard to follow a main character that is just scared behind everyone, surviving by luck, for the first half and then following after a ghost for the second. Lots of very cliché (albeit true) slavery story points.

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  • Buyer1
  • 2019-07-08

Just wow

This is a phenomenal book. The prose is beautiful and brought to life by the preformance. Esi Edugyan is clearly one of Canada's great writers. I expect Washington Black will be considered a classic.

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  • Ellen
  • 2018-12-25

Superb!

Tremendous literary feat, Brilliantly written and original, This book is a compellingly readable tour de force. Loved every minute of it and the narrator was outstanding!

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  • suekitty13
  • 2018-12-09

Just as good as you have heard!

This book deserves every award and accolade it has received. It is astonishing in it's vividness and emotional impact. Although it follows the life of one man from his childhood as a slave to his adulthood in London and beyond, Washington's adventures around the world are a truly epic story. I don't think I can say anything that hasn't already been said. It really is as great as you have heard.

The narrator, Dion Graham, gives a performance that is just as award worthy as Washington's tale. He gives so much emotion to the story and hearing how his voice changes as Wash ages is just incredible. Each of the characters has a distinct voice and sounds absolutely natural. I would swear this is a multi cast recording and not just one man!

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  • Rco to
  • 2018-12-08

Good overall but bad attempts at accents

Overall, I liked this story and the narrator has a pleasant voice. One thing I found distracting though is his attempt to mimic accents of different characters. Accents for individual characters (including the 1st person narrator) seemed to be “on” sometimes and then sometimes gone. Accents for some characters is just weird, like the “unmistakable” Scotsman, Willard, sounds like he’s got a very faint brogue hiding behind what I guess is the residual habit of attempting a Bahamian accent for the main character. The Dutch accents for the Haas’ are pretty badly done too. Would have been better to just narrate in a consistent voice vs. sometimes using accents, sometimes not, and doing them poorly. Narrator also seems to bring in a very emotional tone in a few suitable places...but not in others where it could be merited. So, sometimes you get the “Jules Verne” kind of energy that I think is intended, but there’s fewer peaks of excitement or wonder in the voice than I think the story deserves to bring it fully to life. Worth a listen, but pay attention to the content and use your own imagination for the accents and ebb and flow of adventure.

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  • Vickie
  • 2018-11-19

Competent but far from outstanding

I’m hard pressed to understand why this novel has been the subject of lead reviews in prominent publications. The characters, the setting and the ostensible subject initially captured my interest, which soon waned however. The character development is shallow, the plot is weak, and the writing is bloated. The narration is excellent, the single high point.