''Slave Old Man'' () is a 1997 novella by

Patrick Chamoiseau Patrick Chamoiseau (born 3 December 1953) is a French author from Martinique known for his work in the créolité movement. His work spans a variety of forms and genres, including novels, essays, children's books, screenplays, theatre and comics. ...

. This novel is a part of the literary

Créolité ''Créolité'' is a literary movement first developed in the 1980s by the Martinican writers Patrick Chamoiseau, Jean Bernabé and Raphaël Confiant. They published ''Eloge de la créolité'' (In Praise of Creoleness) in 1989 as a response to the ...

movement, created by Francophone authors Patrick Chamoiseau,

Jean Bernabé Jean Bernabé (1942 in Le Lorrain, Martinique – 12 April 2017 in Fort-De-France, Martinique) was a writer and linguist. Bernabé was a professor of language and culture at the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane. He was an important figure ...

, and

Raphaël Confiant Raphaël Confiant (born January 25, 1951) is a Martinican writer known for his literary commitment towards Creole literature. Life and career Raphaël Confiant was born in Le Lorrain, Martinique. He studied English and political science at the ...

during the 1980s. In 2018, an English translation by Linda Coverdale was published and won the 2019

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award is an American literary award that recognizes the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and is conferred by Three Percent, the onlin ...

Summary

The narrator claims to have transcribed an oral history of an old slave man who escapes a sugarcane plantation on the island of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

. The old slave is docile and obedient, but when he locks eyes with his master's

mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short (brachycephalic) and the ears dro ...

in its kennel, his need for freedom is unleashed. He leaves the plantation, running through the night and losing all feeling and sense of self in the Great Woods as he is pursued by the master and his mastiff. At daybreak, the old man covers his eyes from the harsh sun with a blindfold. As he journeys through the woods, he feels as though he is one with nature, but fear and exhaustion soon provoke hallucinations. As he removes his blindfold, he recovers his immense spirit and discovers his will for independence. On the course of his journey, the old man encounters a snake, survives a watery sinkhole, and fights off crabs. Tired of running from the relentless mastiff, the old man opts to turn and fight instead. The dog falls into a spring and the old man breaks his leg. The old slave dies and the novel concludes with an archaeologist's examination of the old slave man's bones.

Structure

The novel is divided into seven chapters with names that reference Nature: ''Matter, Alive, Waters, Lunar, Solar, The Stone,'' and ''The Bones.'' Each of these chapters also begins with an epigraph from the Martiniquan writer

Édouard Glissant Édouard Glissant (21 September 1928 – 3 February 2011) was a French writer, poet, philosopher, and literary critic from Martinique. He is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in Caribbean thought and cultural commentary a ...

. As the book progresses, the narrative shifts from third to the first person voice of the old man. Several sections show the perspective of the master and of the mastiff. Notable characteristics of the author's writing style include terse, choppy sentences, detailed metaphors, and uneven chapter length. The story is told without the use of dialogue. Internal monologue exhibits emotional tension.

Characters

Protagonist

The protagonist, the old slave, is not named within the text. He is, however, referenced by the nickname "Fafa" because of his job of making syrup. Most of his life has been spent enslaved on the plantation. Because of his obedience and wisdom he is respected among the slaves and by the master, but he does not participate in the slaves' social traditions. Nor does he exhibit emotion. The protagonist's repressed spirit finds its will released when he, as a runaway slave, attempts to escape the plantation. Mystery Land

Antagonists

The plantation owner is also not named. He maintains order on the plantation and relentlessly pursues escapees. The master is baffled by the old slave man's change of character. A

was purchased by the plantation owner at the seaport. The ferocious dog had been transported from

Gehenna The Valley of Hinnom ( he, , lit=Valley of the son of Hinnom, translit=Gēʾ ḇen-Hīnnōm) is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem, Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( ...

to maintain order on the slave ship. The trusted old slave man had driven his master to the seaport on the day of its purchase. The beast has captured every runaway slave thus far. The slaves feared being attacked by the dog so much that they stopped attempting to escap

Supplementary Characters

167 slaves and two overseers live and work on the plantation. Slaves had tried to escape before, but the mastiff had always caught them. The master has a wife and four children.

History of Creole Slavery

''Slave Old Man'' takes place during the period of

French colonization The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...

on the island of Martinique. Slaves were imported to operate the lucrative sugar plantations of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

islands. This period began in 1636 following a decree by

King Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

which dictated the importation and usage of a workforce consisting of African slaves to replace the native Carib population. As the French continued to expand and colonize what became known as the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (french: Antilles françaises, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy fwansez) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, ...

, slave labor was used extensively to fuel expansion and economic growth. Following the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...

, slavery on the island of Martinique was abolished after the signing of the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

of 1848, which brought freedom to slaves throughout the entire French West Indies.

Reception

Awards

* 2018

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literacy Work - Winner * 2019

for Fiction - Winner *32nd Annual

French-American Foundation The French-American Foundation is a privately funded, non-governmental organization established to promote bilateral relations between France and the United States on topics of importance to the two countries, with a focus on contact between upco ...

Translation Prize - Winner *

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".

Critical acclaim

On Translation

*"Linda Coverdale’s translation, the first in English, is gloriously unshackled." Sam Sacks, ''The Wall Street Journal'' *"The originality and musicality of phrases... are... a testament to Ms. Coverdale's skill..." Rebecca Foster, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' *"Coverdale renders Chamoiseau's complex language beautifully into English, developing her own surprising strategy for Creole words, both translating them and leaving them in place... The moethod delivers clarity without sacrificing the richness of Chamoiseau's two languages, and by creating new constructions, Coverdale gives standard English a lively, improvisational, oral feeling." Sofia Samatar, ''Three Percent''

On Writing Style

* "It can be a disorienting experience: like the slave, readers are trapped in a menacing forest and prone to hallucinations." Rebecca Foster, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' * "Compared with the digressive exuberance of these more densely populated fictions, “Slave Old Man” transpires in a solitude that can be limiting. Chamoiseau's descriptions of the forest - beautifully translated from French and Creole by Linda Coverdale — are exhilarating, but the old man never quite comes into focus against the background of foliage and verbiage." Julian Lucas, ''The New York Times'' * “The prose is so electrifyingly synesthetic that, on more than one occasion, I found myself stopping to rub my eyes in disbelief.”

Parul Sehgal Parul Sehgal is an American literary critic based in New York, who publishes primarily in American venues. She is a former senior editor and columnist at ''The New York Times Book Review'', and was one of the team of book critics at ''The New Yo ...

, ''The New York Times'' *"Chamoiseau's world of slavery and freedom, however, is messy, violent, visceral, corporeal, and animal." Timothy J. Williams, ''Muster''

Editions & Translation

The historical fiction novella was originally published in 1997 by Gallimard in cooperation with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States.{{Cite book, last=PATRICK., first=CHAMOISEAU, url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1114423498, title=SLAVE OLD MAN : a novel., date=2019, publisher=NEW Press, isbn=978-1-62097-588-6, oclc=1114423498 The English translation from the original French and Creole was published in 2018 by The New Press. Linda Coverdale blended the original French and Creole with the English translation throughout the text as hyphenated phrases between the original text and the translation or as substitutes for the English word.

References

Creole culture French literature The New Press books Créolité