This book was an interesting one to read not long after
I, Juan de Pareja because it was also about a slave who was happy being enslaved. This one felt way more egregious than
I, Juan de Pareja though, since it was set in America and started with Amos being kidnapped from his tribe in Africa. It really rankled that Amos was so fine being enslaved, even when his owners auctioned him off after they promised they would free him. I feel like it would have been easier to read if the author had only acknowledged and emphasized how lucky Amos had been to live with two different families who treated him kindly and didn't beat him and who taught him his trade and how to read. I am glad that this was Amos's story, and I thought it was fascinating to learn about his life and the fact that he was a real person, but there was not enough time devoted to explaining that Amos's situation was NOT the norm in America for slaves, and most people were treated much worse. I thought that would have made this book much more readable and less cringe-y.
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