INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL

From 1861, come these recollections of a slave who works on a plantation in North Carolina. Her owner beats her, throws her down stairs, and rapes her at every chance. Jacobs’s tale of escape makes for an enlightening odyssey. The sophistication of the narrative has led some to speculate the author was a “white writer.” This transition from page to audio emphasizes the implausibility of the provenance. Narrator Elizabeth Klett employs no Southern accent and makes only two brief attempts to imitate the vocabulary or speech patterns of antebellum blacks. Klett uses a soft voice to portray the main character, as well as a young mother who interacts with her children, and changes to a gruff voice to depict the cruel master. Between chapters we hear scratchy recordings of sorrowful songs like “Old Black Joe.” J.A.H. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2011]