The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation

I know that when I was in middle school and high school I hated when teachers picked books that it took forever to get into. And back then I would think to myself, "Why did they chose this? Just to torture us?"


Well they choose these books for a reason. The reason is that there is something that they believe in the novel that is worthwhile for the students. Whether it is an important theme or just a good story.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation is a good book when someone gives it a chance. It is about a black boy who grows up in house full of philosophers and his mother, an African princess, in Pre-Revolutionary War Boston. Octavian has relieved a classical education from the philosophers with which he lives. But little does he know this was all a plan. The philosophers really wanted to see if Black people could learn as well as white people. When Octavian finds out about this, he questions everything in his life. This book looks at the concepts of power, enslavement, and what it really means to be free.

I'm not going to lie to you. This book was not riveting or page turning. Sometimes it was very hard to get through. But once you give it a chance it has a lot to offer and will definitely get you thinking.

I also really enjoyed the history element of this book as well. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing gives you a new and different perspective of American slavery. The way that M.T. Anderson frames the context of slavery gets you thinking on what it really means to be enslaved, both mentally and physically. For you history buffs out there I would check this one out!

My advice to you give The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing a chance. You will not regret it.