Recent Reading: The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia McLeod

The first Thursday in May is the next meeting of the Around the World Book Club at my local public library. Our destination is The Netherlands and I continue to read books on the topic even though I will only talk about one of them when we meet.

McLeod’s book is set in 18th century Suriname, so it is a novel about Dutch colonial history in one place in South America I have never visited and knew little about before reading. In my opinion, the book is good, but not great; the style is a bit clunky. I suspect that if I could read the original Dutch I would be more impressed. Much of the book is told from the perspective of the rich white colonists; I thought those told from the perspective of the slaves were more emotionally engaging. McLeod clearly spent a great deal of time doing historical research.

I recommend the book, but there are other stories about the formerly enslaved peoples of the Caribbean I would recommend more strongly. Specifically: Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn, The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson, Pao by Kerry Young, or, for the brave, A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James.

I would like to hear from you:

Do you have favorite authors from the Netherlands?

Do you have favorite colonial or post colonial writers?

Do you have favorite books or stories about the history of slavery?