The Firefly Letters
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
March 2010
151 pgs.
Summary
This novel is written in verse. It is based on the diaries and letters of Swedish suffragist Fredrika Bremer. She spent three months in Cuba in 1851. The story is told in three alternating free-verse narratives. Fredrika remembers her oppressed childhood in Sweden. Cecilia, a teenage slave, recounts being captured in the Congo at age eight. Elena belongs to a slave-owning family.
Anyone interested in suffrage and slavery would find a lot to think about and learn here. Also fascinating for Cuban immigrants or anyone interested in Cuba.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the writing, I thought it read more like a poetic exercise rather than something that would stay with me. Don't think this one will win, but I've been wrong before.