Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Property (Vintage Contemporaries)

Property (Vintage Contemporaries)
Helpful Score: 1


I'm not one to normally take interest in historical fiction, but Valerie Martin presents the story in such a manner that one almost forgets that she is writing about slavery in 1828 Louisiana. The universal concepts within the story make it timeless. The book's short length and easy vocabulary make this a very quick, but interesting, read.

Manon, from whose point of view the story is told, is very cynical about her position as the wife of an unsuccessful plantation owner, about his relationship with her slave Sarah, and about life in general. She is not unlike the slaves in that she too is treated as 'property'.