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Reviewed by David Jaggart for Readers' Favorite
The Restless Crucible by Yaw Agawu-Kakraba is an enthralling tale that unfolds across West Africa, Brazil, and Europe (briefly). It introduces readers to the complex life of Pedro de Barbosa, an Afro-Brazilian man and former slave whose opportunistic nature leads him to become a renowned slave merchant. Using political cunning, wit, and violence, Pedro gradually transforms himself from a subjugated man to an oppressive one. He eventually finds himself in direct opposition to Queen Ena Sunu of Dahomey. Ena Sunu is determined to end the slave trade for her people and commands the N’Nonmiton, a superior group of female warriors. Like Pedro, she is no stranger to oppression, even within her own marriage and kingdom. Overall, this powerful tale depicts the legacy of slavery across continents during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Yaw Agawu-Kakraba’s The Restless Crucible is a thought-provoking historical and literary novel that explores the themes of political influence, opposition as a disenfranchised body of people, and the lasting psychological trauma of the transatlantic slave trade. Agawu-Kakraba’s novel doesn't sugarcoat the realities of slaves and women (both with and without power) during that period. His book doesn't provide easy answers to the many "whys" surrounding Pedro and Queen Ena Sunu's storylines, or for the secondary characters they encounter during their profound journeys. Instead, the author crafts a story steeped in moral ambiguity, where tales of betrayal, power, and survival evolve from a diasporic and African viewpoint. The author's writing is both hard-hitting and poetic. It flawlessly balances many dualities, including: oppressor versus enslaved, femininity versus masculinity, and complicity versus resistance. This novel is much more than an engaging historical tale; it is a literary atonement.
