It is a very strange storyline. Octavian is a slave in 18th century America but he is not a slave the way generally understand the word. He is a boy dressed in silks and white wigs and given the finest education, raised by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers. But as Octavian grows up he begins to realize that he is an experiment and begins to find shaming evidence that he and his mother are not always treated as equals. Everything would have remained the same until the house of scholars changes hands and the new master is not so kind to Octavian and his mother. When the disquiet of Revolution reaches Boston, everything changes.
The title comes from an interesting practice held among the rich during this time. Small pox was the scourge in the cities. People were dying. In a immunization-like fashion, people would gather as if to attend a party, purposely expose themselves to the pox, and then hang out and wait around for people to get sick. With the plague being monitored and only being exposed to small amounts of the pox, it was thought that people would have more of a chance to live. The smart thing was, that once exposed to the pox, you are immune. This is described in more detail in the book.
Historically and emotionally this is a very curious and interesting book. We have a Black narator/protagonist telling us a story about being a slave before we really think about slavery. I feel conflicted about the way Octavian is treated. At first he is very well cared for and but on the other hand, he is a SCIENCE EXPERIMENT! That is just so degrating that I can't reconsile the care put into the "project." There are so many interesting discussion points.
This is the first in a series and I really wonder where it is all going.
