One Hundred Pearls is a story of unthinkable tragedy and loss which simultaneously shines brightly in a triumphant tale of a woman who survives a century of enslavement. Beginning in a village in Gambia in 1761, the eight-year-old, fictional Princess (her Pulaar name) is of royal descent, her father a renowned warrior. Captured by slave traders, along with her mother and many women of the tribe, she is herded onto a slave ship to America. Separated from her mother and purchased on the auction block, she is sent to a plantation in Alabama. Renamed Sadie, she defies all odds, living a grand one hundred years and writing her story indelibly into history, where she seems to embody the tragic history of slavery itself.

Sadie’s powerful story tugs our deeply humane emotions to the surface, seeking not to dwell solely on the physical savagery of slavery but its emotional devastation and intergenerational trauma. We are enraged and horrified, humbled and saddened. Sometimes we weep, sometimes we smile as Sadie embraces the strength of human spirit to endure the direst of circumstances and emerge with kindness and grace. Even as others show no mercy, she shows it to others, holding gatherings in the fields to bring God into lives filled with horror and unimaginable pain and heartache.

In an age which bears witness to so much denialism and the rewriting of documented history, Barry Cole gives voice to the nearly 600 silenced enslaved people who laboured and died in the manufacture of pig-iron in Roupe Valley (Tannehill State Park), Alabama. I fell in love with the mythical, fully-human Sadie, who will not be erased. Nor will she be silenced. This short and mesmerising novel is a vital must-read for our age and comes highly recommended.

I appreciated getting to read this book, it had that element that I was looking for from this type of book. Barry Michael Cole has a strong writing style and thought the historical fiction element perfectly. I was engaged with the story and enjoyed the overall feel of this.

English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistakes.

I know that religion was or is very important to many people, but not to me. I think I have read 5 pages and I have read the word God / Jesus / sermon / ... too many times.... Sorry, but I won't read this any further.

This is not a book for me, but I am convinced that others will appreciate it.

(A 1 star rating to me means I did not finish.)