Reader Response

       Overall, most people enjoyed the book. I’d say about four stars on average. Almost everyone mentioned that they had heard about this book their whole lives, but never got around to reading it until now, which was interesting because that was one of the reasons I was excited to read this book. One person even mentioned how they wished it still was a required novel in schools. Another mentioned how impressed they were that Abraham Lincoln himself praised the book.
      From Goodreads.com, Tammy King Carlton, 12 August, 2008: “This book is one of the most moving, provocative pieces of literature I've ever read, and it's the first time that I can recall being moved to tears from a book. As long as I live, I will never be able to remove from my mind the vision of Eliza, panicked and frenzied, in the dead of the night with her baby boy in her arms, leaping across the frozen ice of the Ohio river to escape the trader her baby had been sold to. And if anyone wants to read a profound and well written narrative for the view of a Black Slave, look to George's monologue on page 127-128, where he is at the Inn with Mr. Wilson, disguised as a white upper-class gentlemen, and explaining to Mr. Wilson how he feels about his country. I was involved in the book up to that point, but after that, this book owned me. This should be required reading of every American Citizen, and it's in my top five of the most important books I have ever read. For whatever the cause of the American people, it all comes down to "When in the course of human events...".”

       I agree very much with this comment from Good Reads because I also found George’s monologue to Mr. Wilson very moving, and a defining point in the novel. It gave a very clear, and deep insight to the life of a slave, and many points of it were relatable, to some degree. Although, I did not cry while reading this book.

       From BarnsandNoble.com: “When I started to read this book, I was crying as the characters were separating. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote this novel in such a fantastic way that I could actually bond and understand what the characters had to go through. Although most of this book is very sad and depressing, she ties it together with more fortunate events which make the novel seem even more real. I think that Harriet Beecher Stowe is one of the only authors who understands that one novel can not just be only morbid or gleeful, and that if you tie those two feelings together (with some more feelings to one side than another to set the tone), more connection and passion can be felt by the reader. Once you read this fantastic novel, you will be amazed at the real connection you feel with the characters and actual slaves.”

       Again, I did not cry while reading this book. Other than that I also very much so agree with this comment as well because for me, when I read books, an important factor that helps me really ‘get in to it’ is when there’s relatable characters. And I’m sure that a lot of other people can agree with that. And the part about the novel being not only morbid and not only gleeful is a good observation that I had not noticed before, that there are some happy moments in the novel.

      From Amazon.com, Michael B. Grant, July 7, 2014: “I have heard about this book my whole life but never understood what it was about. If, like me, you make the assumption that it is a book about a slave that "sells out his own race", which is the definition of Uncle Tom that I gathered by looking at television and hearing the term used, you will surely miss the entire point of this book. Instead, the book is about a slave that is steadfast in his beliefs and principles. A man that holds on to his faith in Jesus. I really don't get the common use of the term after reading this. Every one should read this book. It can be a hard read as it is a glimpse into a dark period in history.”

      This comment is an interesting one, because I had never heard of the term “Uncle Tom” described as a man who “sells out his own race”. But Michael B. Grant is definitely right about how it is a hard read in the sense because it is so dark. It gave me such a close look in to slavery, at times it was quite shocking. As a senior in high school, when we first read about what it was like to be on a slave boat, was the first time I truly captured how horrifying slavery really was.