Middle Passage

By: Charles Johnson

Narrated by: Dion Graham

After the Confederacy falls, newly freed slave Rutherford Calhoun is eager to avoid marrying a prim schoolteacher and boards the first ship he finds moored at a New Orleans port. Unbeknownst to Calhoun, the vessel is a slave ship enroute to Africa. On the return trip, Calhoun is put to work as a cabin boy and quickly assists the newly captured slaves in revolting against the drunken crew. This compelling adventure is filled with a perfect blend of colorful narrative, historical romance and suspense.

©1990 Charles Johnson (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLC

Travails of a free black in the early 19th century

Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage is the tale of a free black man, Calhoun, who stows away on a ship to avoid being blackmailed into marriage. After discovery, he is put to work on the ship which is engaged in illegal slave trading (slave importation having been banned earlier). The captain of the ship is also involved in plundering cultural artifacts of interest to museums. Tensions run high as the slaves are believed to be sorcerers by the crew who plan a mutiny, but the slaves take over the ship before the planned coup. Calhoun takes on the duty of feeding the creature who possesses some ill-defined mystical abilities, which is the special cargo. A storm renders the ship nearly unsaleable, eventually being rescued by another passing ship. Calhoun is reunited with the woman he was running away from due to growth through this ‘middle passage.’

Johnson offers a semi-realistic historical novel with a bit of sci-fi fantasy thrown in that basically follows the evolution and growth of a recently freed slave who up to this point had lived a life of excess.

The narration is excellent with good character distinction. Pacing is a tad brisk.

An Afro-American Treasure Island-like saga

In 1830, formerly enslaved, Rutherford Calhoun stows away on a ship sailing from New Orleans to avoid marriage. Little does he realize the consequences. An Afro-American Treasure Island-like saga ensues. In a mystical tale, Calhoun experiences the horrors of the middle passage, the shipment of captured men, women, and children from the west coast of Africa to a future of bondage in America. Throughout his ordeal, his previous life, the life of a black man in the antebellum United States, shapes his understanding of events and his responses.
The story has relevance for our times in reflecting the current dilemma of black men and women in navigating a predominantly white world.
It is an easy read yet a compelling book.

Unique Story, Wonderfully Told!

Middle Passage's plot is unlike anything I've encountered and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The protagonist in this first-person narrated novel is a great story-teller with an extraordinary background that gives him an erudite, down-home manner of speaking. His development over the course of the book was entertaining to witness. The actor who narrates the novel, Dion Graham, did an outstanding job! This is one example where I'm sure listening to a book left me more satisfied than I think reading would have.

Left with a lot to think about

A worthwhile listen, to be sure. And I'd probably listen a second time, compelled by the rich language and philosophical conflicts that come up in the story. But there is also something off: the protagonist feel anachronistic in both directions. He seems modern for the 1830s but dated for 2021. The last chapter was also a big letdown for me. Still, an overall compelling and artfully written novel.

Mixed review

The story itself is good. The poetic prose and fast talk took a minute to get used to. The end was absolutely unexpected.