Saratoga Reads announces this year's top book
Book of choice draws on local history for a story of injustice and perseverance
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, a compelling account from the pre–Civil War era of the author’s
harrowing descent into slavery and eventual rescue, has been selected by public vote
as this year’s book of choice for Saratoga Reads, the community reading program now
marking its ninth year.
Northup, a freeborn black man who lived with his family in Saratoga Springs, worked
for local hotels and earned a reputation as a talented violinist. In his book, Northup
tells how in 1841 two men enticed him to join their traveling circus as a musician,
eventually luring him to Washington, D.C., where he was apparently drugged, then shackled
and imprisoned. He was illegally sold into slavery in Louisiana, where he served three
masters. He had left behind a wife and three children.
Twelve Years a Slave then chronicles Northup’s travails as he is passed from one owner to another and
the political wrangling necessary for him to regain his freedom and be reunited with
his family in 1853.
“Almost immediately after he regained his freedom, Northup—doubtless encouraged by
the opponents of slavery—decided to make his story known, and within two years of
his return, his book was in print,” wrote historian Ira Berlin, Distinguished University
Professor at the University of Maryland. “In its depth and breadth, Twelve Years a Slave provides an extraordinarily complete view of slavery in the plantation South in the
years prior to the Civil War.”
Added Berlin, “On page after page, Northup tells of the brutality of chattel bondage,
the endless and often senseless beating, the frequent, soul-crushing humiliations,
the casual and callous destruction of family life. ”
To commemorate Northup and educate the public, Saratoga Springs has proclaimed a Solomon
Northup Day, held each year on the third Saturday of July. The day includes a “Celebration
of Freedom” event held annually at the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center, offering a
violin performance, a keynote speaker, and a retelling of the Solomon Northup story.
Said Tabitha Orthwein, chair of the Saratoga Reads board, “Twelve Years a Slave is a fantastic choice for our community read. This autobiography takes us on an up-close
historical journey with a fellow Saratogian whose account gives future generations
the opportunity to learn about our history. There are boundless programming opportunities
featuring local experts, related movies, and historic sites, and the Saratoga Reads
events team is now making plans for an active agenda.”
Twelve Years a Slave is currently in the works as a film produced by Brad Pitt, to be released in 2013.
The movie stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup and features such actors as Pitt, Michael
Fassbender, Paul Giamatti, Sarah Paulson, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Some 370 votes were cast by the public in selecting this year’s book from among five
contenders. The other four books on the ballot included another memoir, Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton, and three novels—The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, Doc by Mary Doria Russell, and The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach.
Saratoga Reads will officially launch its programming for 2012-13 with a kickoff book
fair on Sunday, Dec. 2, at Barnes & Noble in Wilton. The event, which will raise
funds for the organization’s free public programs, will feature fiddle music in honor
of Northup’s talent, an Elf on the Shelf holiday story time, an American Girl holiday
tea, and more.
For more information visit www.SaratogaReads.org.
Saratoga Reads is a Skidmore College-Saratoga collaboration.