The Cost of Sugar
About the book
The lives of two sisters reveal the hierarchies and violence of eighteenth-century Surinamese sugar plantations.
Original title: Hoe duur was de suiker?
Americas · A READING GUIDE
Suriname
McLeod revisits colonial plantations and Elisabeth Samson, examining the social limits imposed by colour and wealth. De Kom reverses the colonial narrative by placing exploited and enslaved people at its centre. Roemer explores family, sexuality, race and living on one’s own terms. The selection includes historical fiction, experimental prose and literary history.
WHERE TO START
- The Cost of SugarCynthia McLeod
- On a Woman’s MadnessAstrid Roemer
- We Slaves of SurinameAnton de Kom
Books to begin with
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On a Woman’s Madness
About the book
Noenka leaves her marriage and seeks a life of her own against violence and sexual and racial norms.
Original title: Over de gekte van een vrouw
Off-White
About the book
A multigenerational family history explores racial and sexual tensions in Surinamese society from wartime into the 1960s.
The Free Negress Elisabeth
About the book
This novel reconstructs the life of Elisabeth Samson, a wealthy Black woman in eighteenth-century colonial Suriname.
Original title: De vrije negerin Elisabeth
We Slaves of Suriname
About the book
This literary history indicts colonial exploitation and follows slavery’s consequences beyond abolition.
Original title: Wij slaven van Suriname
My Name Is Sita
About the book
In 1950s Suriname, young Sita struggles for independence amid family obligations and an unplanned pregnancy.
Tutuba: The Girl from the Slave-Ship Leusden
About the book
A historical novella about an abducted girl carried toward Suriname aboard the slave ship Leusden.
Context and sources
Sources on authors and their connections to this country. Specific edition details appear beside each book. Polish and English originals are not labelled as translations.
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