12 Days: Solomon Northup and Albert Camus

Dans 'Le Premier Homme', Albert Camus explore son enfance à Alger, décrivant avec intensité les expériences sensorielles et émotionnelles de Jacques Cormery, un personnage inspiré de sa propre vie. Le roman aborde des thèmes tels que la pauvreté, la guerre, et la complexité des relations coloniales. Bien que resté inachevé, il offre une vision intime et poignante de l'auteur.

Solomon Northup's memoir, 'Twelve Years a Slave,' recounts his harrowing experiences as a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Deep South. The book vividly describes the brutal conditions of slavery and the struggles he faced during his twelve-year bondage. It became a significant abolitionist text, providing firsthand insight into the inhumanity of slavery.

In 'Black Like Me', John Howard Griffin recounts his daring experiment to understand the lives of African Americans in the segregated South. In 1959, Griffin, a white man, underwent medical treatment to darken his skin and traveled through the Deep South, experiencing firsthand the racism and segregation faced by Black people. His journey took him from New Orleans to Mississippi and Alabama, where he encountered severe racial prejudice and violence. The book highlights the stark contrast in treatment he received as a white man versus a Black man and emphasizes the need for tolerant dialogue to bridge the racial divide. Griffin's work was initially published in 'Sepia' magazine and later as a bestselling book, which became a significant contribution to the civil rights movement.

Published in 1852, 'Uncle Tom’s Cabin' is a seminal work by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicts the harsh realities of slavery in the United States. The novel follows the story of Uncle Tom, a dignified and religious enslaved man, and Eliza, a fugitive slave, among other characters. It highlights the cruelty and injustices of the slave system and the emotional toll on enslaved individuals and their families. The book was a massive success, selling over 300,000 copies in its first year and becoming the second-best-selling book of the 19th century after the Bible. It played a significant role in fueling the abolitionist cause and is credited with influencing public opinion on slavery.