For the first time on The Steady Read, the star rating above this opening paragraph is completely blank, and I feel that is only appropriate given the racial and historical importance of this late 1700s autobiography. That is also why this review will be a bit more brief and less critical than usual, because it seems wrong to try and rate a work that never had any intention of being rated or reviewed in such a score-based manner.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (yes, that is it’s full title) details the life of Olaudah Equiano, an African man who was kidnapped alongside his sister and forced into slavery when he was eleven. From there, he gradually worked his way into the hands of the Europeans, spending much of his life working on ships and being subjected, or witness, to sickening abuse against Black people. This lifetime of working on ships is also how he gains the name Gustavus Vassa, given undesirably to him by one of his first masters, which he continues to hold onto and seems to grow more comfortable with using as the years go on.
What sets Equiano apart from most ‘Negroes’ of his era is his desire to learn English and gather knowledge about the world he explores alongside his masters and shipmates—aspirations that ultimately aid him in working his way out of slavery and residing within Britain in his latter years of life. Moreover, his on-and-off admiration for the Europeans and White people helps him stand out as a unique figure in this time where one could be certain every African would hate every White person, even the Africans that kept slaves themselves.
Still, Equiano is deeply disgusted by the constant abuse and torture his ethnicity is subjected to every day, and writes this entire autobiography in a self-aware manner directed largely towards middle-class White readers who he hopes will sympathise with the injustices being imposed against the Africans. For the time, this fourth-wall-breaking way of writing, from an African who would have been expected to be rather unintelligent and illiterate, is very impressive and almost modern. Even more so, Equiano’s constant revisions to it, and unwillingness to back down to certain organisations attempting to claim his work as a hoax, shows resilience from a man who spent decades being denied freedom and true human rights.
As someone who wrote an essay on this lengthy work, I was able to see where Equiano sometimes flattered his White readership to draw them alongside, whilst identifying other segments where his mask of politeness slips away and he shows some deep-rooted, yet subdued, hated towards the race(s) that have wronged his people. However, for what you could criticise about these inconsistencies or speculate about audience manipulation, I feel that it displays a very human and hurt side of Equiano, who strives not even for true equality, but simply for respect and better treatment of Black people. He also has a great affinity towards Africa, despite also gaining an appreciation for London and various other European cities, and he makes it clear to readers that he is still an African within his heart. This, again, is a display of resistance, contrasting his amazement at the industry, inventions, and landscape of White-dominated regions.
As for the work itself, the archaic English, extreme detail (almost to the point of rambling or paragraphs of asides), and lengthiness of this work are likely to turn away any modern reader. Without a doubt, it is a product of its time, but also remarkably easy to read for something that is ~230 years old, which really is not that long ago when you consider the entire history of humanity.
However, for those interested in the history of racism and notable figures from it, reading Equiano’s autobiography and indulging in his arguments and criticisms of the world are essential, especially as he includes letters and many accurate dates to highlight the legitimacy of his autobiography and significant events he was present for.
For academic reasons, I was forced to read The Interesting Narrative, and begrudged it for a while, but quickly found myself settling into it and beginning to become invested in Equiano’s point of view and experiences, even if slogging through the dated vocabulary and drawn-out writing style was tedious. I still thought it was very good, and it certainly has relevance to the equality and race causes, so I can say it certainly was an ‘interesting narrative’ that I am glad to have read.
There are plenty of ways to read this work, with some copies attempting to make it more friendly to the modern reader through simplifying language and reworking the flow of certain lengthy sections. So, if Equiano’s life has piqued your curiosity, there is no excuse not to read about it.
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