A slave story. Violent and sad. Told by a slave mother to her son who she had not seen for many years. ( )

from the back cover:

BRAVE MUSIC
OF A
DISTANT
DRUM
A
ma is a slave. She is old and dying and has an incredible story to tell. It is about violence and heartache, but it is also a story of courage, hope, determination, and ultimately, love. Since Ama is blind, she cannot write down her story for future generations. Instead, she summons the son from whom she has been long separated. At first he thinks she’s old and tiresome. But as Ama’s astonishing journey unfolds in her own words, his world changes forever, until he can never see it with the same eyes again.

Nor will those who read Ama’s story.

MANU HERBSTEIN is the Ghanaian/South African author of Ama: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade which won the 2002 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Brave Music of a Distant Drum makes fresh use of his original research material for a younger, North American audience.