' The sea is slavery' Inspired by a true story this suspenseful & moving book chronicles an incident of courage & rebellion that took place aboard a disease-riddled slave ship the Zong returning from Africa When illness threatens to infect all on board the ship's captain orders his crew to seize the sick slaves
- men women & children
- & throw them into the sea But one female slave Mintah survives drowning & secretly climbs back onto the ship From her hiding place she attempts to rouse the remaining captives to rebel against the killings becoming a dangerous force on the ship A trial is held upon the ship's arrival to determine liability for the 131 missing slaves The crew is nearly absolved of responsibility until Mintah's journal is produced which directly contradicts the crew's accounts The final words belong to Mintah whose first-person account of her life after the Zong is troubling & dramatic D' Aguiar's spare prose starkly reveals the inner lives of First Mate Kelsall Mintah & the crew members as they face the moral weight of this atrocity D' Aguiar's imagery is haunting his characters' thoughts complex & the mood is darkly compelling