Fred D'Aguiar

The Sea is slavery", begins Fred D'Aguiar's deeply moving novel that starts aboard the Zong, a slave ship returning from Africa. Faced with a disease that threatens to infect the entire ship, Captain Cunningham orders his crew to seize the sick men, women, and children and throw them overboard. One hundred and thirty-two slaves are tossed into the sea, their bodies registered as strokes in the Captain's log, their names never set down.

But one slave, Mintah, survives drowning. Mintah, who was thrown overboard not for sickness but for being strong-willed and stubborn, climbs back onto the ship and hides in the food store. From there she attempts to rouse the remaining slaves to rebel, becoming a secret force on the ship and stirring up unease among the crew with a voice and a conscience they seem unable to silence.

Inspired by an actual incident, this powerful novel is about history and distortions of the truth, about the importance of memory and testimony in the struggle against oblivion. Richly atmospheric, full of suspense, and profoundly moving, this is undoubtedly Fred D'Aguiar's finest book to date.

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Feeding the Ghosts

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