Review of Uncle Tom's Cabin

I never read this book in school, and decided to pick it up just because of it's historical value.  I had heard that this book had a part in  prompting American citizens to support the American Civil War.  I know I would have rather read a personal account from a former slave, but the author states in the last chapter of this book that the people and events were based on reality....of course the names were changed.

I will admit that the language which is of the slaves is hard to get through, as it's sometimes unintelligible.  I also found the overwhelming mentions of religion to be another reason for me not to really enjoy this book. I know that religion played a big part of that time period so I tried to overlook it.  I also found the chapter breaks to be very annoying, because the author jumped from one group or persons to another with no smooth transition. I will admit that I did find most of the characters to be believable, and found the title character to play a strong role in the persuasion of the author's argument to abolish slavery.

One of the most important things I learned from this book was that often as present day people we forget just how atrocious were the conditions under which slaves were treated, and that they were often separated from their families.  I think that films often focus on the brutality of slave treatment, but I found it touching how the author reminded the reader of the slaves humanity, and how they were no different in loving and wanting to be with their families.

Overall I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads just because I do not think this is the best example of slavery. I may have to someday read 12 Years a Slave to get the real deal.

No one has paid me to read and review this book. I have given my honest opinion of it, and the above Amazon links go to products which if are purchased I receive a very small percentage of the sale.