 First edition | |
| Author | Fred D'Aguiar |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Chatto & Windus |
Publication date | 1994 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 144 |
The Longest Memory is a 1994 short novel (138 pages long) by British writer Fred D'Aguiar. It was the Guyana-born poet's first novel, The story takes place on a Virginian plantation, in the period before the American Civil War, between 1790 and 1810. The book is told through many different people and in different forms. It begins in the first person, with Whitechapel, the oldest and most respected slave on the plantation, recounting the sorrows of his life. From there on, each chapter is narrated by a different character, sometimes speaking through verse, via diary entry or in the second person. Most of the chapters are narrated by characters central to the story; however, chapter 11 is purely made up of fictitious editorials from the local newspaper known as The Virginian.