Esi Edugyan

The 4th and I assume final part of Esi Edugyan 's 2018 novel, Washington Black, takes place in London, as The eponymous narrator, now 18 or so, travels to England w the scientist Goff who has take Wash on as a partner in the development of the first seaquarium and the Hoff's daughter, Tanna, w whom W has fallen in love - something G seems to tolerate just barely whether through overprotection of his youngest daughter or dislike of W as somehow beneath them because of his race and his background is not yet clear. There is a real sense in this section of the novel that W feels all sorts of racist snubs - he recognized for ex that he will never receive credit for his role in developing the aquatic exhibit- and some outright outrageous racism: the woman who berates him on the ocean liner, and most particularly the mother of Titch. In fact the central issue of the novel at this point is W's attempt to determine whether Titch is still alive and if so why he abandoned W in the midst of an Arctic storm and then cut W out of his life. The scene at Titch's childhood home, now in tatters and ruins, is EE at her best - both for the topical description and the sharply delineated dialogue w Titch's racist mother. We're obviously building toward a final confrontation between W and Titch, and there's still a smoking gun as W had wounded but not killed the bounty hunter Willard. No one can outdo Dickens at description of London, and EE wisely doesn't try - but is there anything she can't describe? Well, the love scenes between W and Tanna feel stilted and in some ways unconvincing- her on again off again attraction to W under the close surveillance of her father are odd to say the least. That caveat aside this novel holds reader interest and provides plants of drama and surprises right up to the end. It's no knock on EE to call her writing cinematic, though a movie version might not really hold up and the title role would present a casting/production challenge, w a badly disfigured central character.

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