This book is an historic fiction that takes place during the time of the Underground Railroad. Lensinda (often called Sinda) is a young journalist, who has been called to get a statement from an elderly, Black woman who shot and killed a slave hunter. The old woman, named Cash, had (some years previously) arrived in Dunmore, a fictitious town in southern Canada, via the Underground Railroad, and was being hidden on a farm. After Cash is apprehended and put in jail, Lensinda makes frequent visits to her cell to get her story. But Cash doesn’t want to give her statement, rather, she proposes to trade “a story for a story”. So, Lensinda asks her questions, and Cash answers with stories. Cash tells stories about her life and struggles, about falling in love and family, about death and heartache, about the ill treatment of Blacks and Indigenous people, and about their escape to freedom. As Lensinda shares her own stories with Cash, she discovers a connection to Cash and her past. This book is all about connections, relationships, and in the telling of stories, we learn about the history of a people through their relationships.

Readers who like historic fiction, those who enjoy stories and story-telling, and those who enjoy reading about families who helped slaves and the slaves who escaped to freedom.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I was drawn to the idea of swapping 'a story for a story'. This made the reading intriguing, but also somewhat confusing. It was interesting that answers to questions were given in stories. Because then I had to read between the lines to find the answers. I liked when Lensinda said she is “sick of slave tales…”. Then, when Cash snorted, but didn’t give an explanation, Lensinda felt shame, and realized that “freeborn children had no right to be sick of slave tales.” – they were “beholden” to them. I found this quite powerful.

Normally, I would relish the movement back and forth in time, but I did find the culmination of stories within the story a bit disjointed. When Cash told her stories of the past, she told them according to their content, rather than in chronological order. I may have to read the book again to satisfy my mind's need to form a more linear picture of the main story.

This book made me feel hopeful. It made me think about my own family, and my ancestors (long gone) who were born and/or taken into slavery. I felt hopeful, because I received the message that death isn’t the end, that as long as we keep passing on the stories of who we are and how far a journey we have already travelled, our children and our children’s children will take that torch and travel still further on.

Did a great job of bridging the gap between the generation that was born into slavery, and the ones born free. This was done mostly through dialogue, having characters express their beliefs and prejudices through conversations. The author also showed their similarities and differences in the stories told about their relationships with one another.

I felt this was a moving tale set in history, recounting intertwining events in the lives of the family members, the backdrop being the plight of slaves and the aftermath of gaining freedom. I found the descriptive narrative very effective in pulling me into the scenes. I had a hard time putting the book down.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of In the Upper Country: A Novel   from Amazon.Com!

Created Oct 25, 2024 at 11:14pm • Submit your own review...