THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION Volume II: The Kingdom of the Waves

Volume I, a National Book Award winner, is strongly recommended before tackling this ambitious look at racism during the American Revolution. Volume II, The Kingdom of the Waves, picks up in the summer of 1775, when Octavian, a slave who has been educated in a psychological study designed to compare African (black) to European (white) intellect, flees captivity with his tutor. On the run, Octavian muses in his diary on the ironies of "freedom" and "liberty." A convincing sense of time and place is created through letters, journals, and historic documents. Peter Francis James reads with a solemn grace, infusing Anderson's admirable hero with outrage, confusion, humiliation, and determination. What’s more, James's delivery of early American diction is controlled, believable, and never theatrical. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2008]