It tells the story of Isabel, confused about who to trust, her overriding thoughts concern her freedom and caring for Ruth. It is the story of the Locktons, allied with the King in England, in the midst of Colonial rebels. Isabel, while educated enough to read, is not educated enough to know the causes of the Revolution, the impact of either side winning and therefore who to set her alliance with.Ĭhains tells multiple tales at one time. Curzon tries to enlist Isabels aid, as Lockton is a Loyalist, and Isabel may overhear information that may benefit the Colonial Army. One day, Isabel meets Curzon, a slave who works for Major Bellingham of the Colonical Army. There were pro and anti slavery contingents. There were Rebels and Loyalists living side by side. Told in the first person by Isabel, readers gain a deep understanding of the confusion and chaos during that particular time in the colonies. They are sold to the Locktons of New York and moved from their home in Newport, Rhode Island.Ĭhains takes place in New York at the dawn of the American Revolution. Their master, Madam Finch, has died and her nephew, Robert, the only heir to the estate, decides to sell Isabel and Ruth, regardless of the fact that Madam Finch has promised them their freedom upon her death. Isabel is eleven and her younger sister, Ruth, is five. Im not a big fan of historical fiction, but Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson may make me change my mind.
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In addition to expelling the biological basis and the evolutionary history of hair, the fiber is put into context: hair in history (as tied to textile mills and merchant associations), hair as a construct for cultural and self-identity, hair in the arts (as the material for artist's brushes and musical instruments), hair as commodity (used for everything from the inner lining of tennis balls to an absorbent to clean up oil spills), and hair as evidence in criminology. From a completely bald beauty queen with alopecia to the famed hair-hang circus act, Stenn weaves the history of hair through a variety of captivating examples, withsources varying fromrenaissance merchants diaries to interviews withwig makers, modern barbers, and more. All Brown’s followers nod off when he quotes, endlessly and highly eccentrically, from the Bible. Brown’s endless praying seems to be a comedic line that McBride has overinvested in it becomes extremely tedious, a joke flogged to death. The book appears to be very random, as though the author and his editor had failed to spot that there are a troublesome number of repetitions and inconsistencies. This is not the only rather arbitrary plot device. For some reason that is never explained, Onion is dressed as the daughter of a slave, and John Brown takes charge of the child, whom he regards as a talisman. The Good Lord Bird, McBride, a musician and novelist, enlists an entirely fictional character called Onion, a boy of about 12, to tell the story. |