Just Jennifer

The Long Song by Andrea Levy (May, 2010)

Orange Prize winner Andrea Levy has drawn a picture of Jamaica just before and after the slave rebellion of 1832. Told from the point of view of July, a woman born into slavery on the Amity sugar plantation, the story traces the history of one plantation through July’s eyes as she writes her memoirs, and through her son’s editorial comments as he prepares to publish her work. When July is a young girl, the widowed sister of the plantation owner, Mrs. Caroline Mortimer, takes a fancy to July and brings her to live in the big house, changing her name to Marguerite, and teaching her to read, write and to help run the household and plantation. July manages to work this situation to her advantage, and develops a serene sense of humor about the entire situation. After the rebellion and the death of Mrs. Mortimer’s brother, however, a new overseer arrives at the plantation and decides that everything on the plantation, including July, even though she should be free to leave, is there for his taking and to use as he sees fit. July is a survivor, though, and comes through her life with grace and humor and raises her children to be successful, responsible members of a greater society. Told with a voice as lilting as the warm Jamaican breeze, Levy has a keen ear for dialect. July is an admirable heroine, not allowing herself to become a victim of circumstances; she learns to get the best for herself from each situation.