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This brilliantly suspenseful period piece about the slave trade in the 18th century is also a meditation on how avarice dehumanizes the oppressor as well as the oppressed.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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WINNER OF THE 1992 BOOKER PRIZE
'Gripping . . . SACRED HUNGER covers a period between 1752 and 1765 . . . it concerns the entangled and conflicted fortunes of two cousins: Erasmus Kemp, the son of a Lancashire merchant, and Matthew Paris, a scholar and surgeon just released from prison for "denying Holy Writ" . . . the Liverpool Merchant is the vessel on which the whole of the novel hinges, and it carries the reader deep into the history of man's iniquitous greed . . . AS REGARDS ITS DRAMATIC BREADTH AND ENERGY, NO RECENT DOMESTIC NOVEL HAS COME WITHIN A MILE OF IT' - Anthony Quinn in the Independent
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Barry Unsworth's novel does deserve the Booker Prize that it won. From the moment I picked it up it was impossible to put down. The novel starts with a description of two classes in 18th century England: the working class and the burgeoning mercantile class exemplified by Erasmus Kemp. I particularly like the way Barry Unsworth portrays bawdy tavern speak using its clipped sounds and mispronounced words.
Sacred Hunger races between gaudy mansions of the nouveau riche in the English countryside and the slave dealers abode in humid, hot West Africa. It underlines the common humanity in us all and the questions that injustice raises. The novel's ace-in-the-hole is that he does not adopt a moralizing tone on the issue of slave trade. The novel is a stark description of our pitiful, insatiable greed, which was the cause of the the injustice that was the Slave Trade.
If you are a serious history buff looking for some perspective into the Slave Trade then this is not the book for you. However, if you want a fantastic bit of storytelling with the slave trade as a backdrop then you must read this one.
Sacred Hunger races between gaudy mansions of the nouveau riche in the English countryside and the slave dealers abode in humid, hot West Africa. It underlines the common humanity in us all and the questions that injustice raises. The novel's ace-in-the-hole is that he does not adopt a moralizing tone on the issue of slave trade. The novel is a stark description of our pitiful, insatiable greed, which was the cause of the the injustice that was the Slave Trade.
If you are a serious history buff looking for some perspective into the Slave Trade then this is not the book for you. However, if you want a fantastic bit of storytelling with the slave trade as a backdrop then you must read this one.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This epic of the eighteenth century British Slave Trade works at two levels. The first is as a straight and exciting narrative of the different stances to it of the two main characters, one who profits from it, and is at last morally enslaved by it himself while the other recognises its evil and attempts his own ultimately futile protest against it. At the second level the novel serves as a meditation on the nature of greed - the "Sacred Hunger" of the title, and the extent to which it can become a justification for any excess. Mr.Unsworth's genius in this book is however that the does not adapt a simplistic moralising tone but writes with understanding of the society that produced this abuse, and shows how potentially decent people could be drawn, unthinkingly, into the position of profiteers and exploiters. One does not get a sense here of modern perceptions and values being projected back on to an earlier age - the weakness which destroys so much serious fiction set in the past - and the characters' behaviour and attitudes, whether sympathetic to the Slave Trade or not , are consistent with those of eighteenth century British society. Like other novels of Unsworth's, this work has many echoes of Conrad, in its depiction of the depths to which humanity can so quickly plunge once the restraints of law and custom are relaxed. Though gripping from the first page it is disturbing work and the vividness of its plot and imagery will not quickly leave the reader. Very highly recommended.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I went back to this book last week, for the first time in about five years. The odd thing is that even historical fiction ages. Not so in Mr. Unsworth's case. The writing remains crisp, the story absolutely addictive. I had just read a similar book set on the high seas, called the Requiem Shark. They're both highly evocative of their time, Shark a little less forgiving, Hunger more sweeping in its nature. I'm also a fan of Patrick O'Brien, but his books require a patience that neither Hunger or Shark demand with their doses of story and adrenalin. Buy Sacred Hunger, it didn't win the Booker Prize for nothing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Unwin at his considerable best.
I wanted to reread this book because I had just finished Unwin's latest, 'The Quality of Mercy'. I enjoyed and admired 'Sacred Hunger' when it came out, but reading the two books... Read more
Published 4 months ago by GG
Unbelievable but real
I expected a new item, but the one I got was not as I expected. When I was asked to review the items I bought, I described my disappointment with the "Sacred Hunger. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jagoda
SACRED HUNGER..By BARRY UNSWORTH
I read this book within days of its publication.
Then, stupidly, I did the ONE thing I have always vowed not to do.
Lent my personal copy!! Read more
Then, stupidly, I did the ONE thing I have always vowed not to do.
Lent my personal copy!! Read more
Published 14 months ago by VASILIS
This is an absolute Epic!
You need to persevere early on, especially re the play rehearsals, but the rewards are fantastic because this novel is epic, fabulous in character, amazing in scope and the whole... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Damon
An informative and interesting historical book
I purchased this book after a read about it in the Wall Street Journal - it was one of her ten best historical novels the newspaper's critic presented. Read more
Published on 13 April 2009 by Georgia P.
Forget Rushdie - This is my Booker of Bookers
The love of money, the making of profit is the sacred hunger of the title. This quest justifies everything and sanctifies all purposes. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2008 by LizzySiddal
Fantastic piece of history
What a wonderful book! The amount of research required for such an epic must be mind boggling. This is not just a novel about the slave trade, but a close look at the two very... Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2004
The finest piece of historical fiction I've ever read.
Unsworth's Booker prize sharing _Sacred_Hunger_ is a book of virtually unparalleled beauty. It sustains you, beckens you along, and leaves you heartbroken, with an entire new... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2001
This novel was semi-good compared to others i've read.
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth was a moderate novel. It took well into the 400's to get interesting enough to make myself not want to put it down. Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2000
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