The Longest Memory

Blurb

The Longest Memory is a short fiction novel by British writer Fred D'Aguiar. The story takes place on a Virginian plantation, in the period before the American Civil War. The book is told through many different people and in different forms. It begins in first person, with Whitechapel, the oldest and most respected slave on the plantation, recounting the sorrows of his life. From there on in each chapter is narrated by a different character, sometimes speaking through verse, via diary entry or in second person. Most of the chapters are narrated by characters central to the story, however chapter 11 is purely made up of fictitious editorials from the local newspaper known as the Virginian.