Kwame Alexander, The door of no return, Walker Books Australia, August 2023, 432 pp., RRP $34.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781839133244
Kwame Alexander, poet and novelist, is the author of The Crossover, a phenomenal best-seller, and now a streaming television series. This new verse novel is the first of a planned trilogy. One aim of this book is to remind American readers that in late August 1619, the first shipment of twenty slaves from Africa arrived on their shores at Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia.
‘Africa was our genesis,’ Alexander writes in an afterword. The novel is narrated in the voice of Kofi Offin, an eleven year old boy from Southern Ghana. He is a gifted swimmer, infatuated with a girl his age in the village, and he wants to show her he is stronger, faster, more attractive than his cousin. There are festivals and competitions that bring unexpected drama to his life in short, simply told scenes that are themselves intense free-verse poems. Each episode is introduced by a pithy saying or a wise observation from his culture. The writing is lively and accessible – and intriguing for anyone interested in knowing something of the language, symbols and customs of Africa.
Kofi’s life descends into distressing horrors, tortures and privations when the pale-skinned Dutch manage to buy him from local rogue captors, themselves under the control of these heavily armed, ruthless and apparently wealthy red-coats. It is a shocking story, but one that confronts crucial historical truths. This is young adult writing at its best.
Recommended for twelve to sixteen year old readers, and beyond.
Reviewed by Kevin Brophy
