The Hundred Wells of Salaga: A Novel

This remarkable book with its themes of forgiveness and resilience is set in Ghana at the end of the European slave trade. The British, French and Germans no longer participate, but the social and economic fabric of life in the area is being torn apart. One of the complex issues is the involvement of Africans in slavery and the slave trade.Two women from different backgrounds experience this social, political, and economic upheaval. Their stories illuminate a history largely untold in Europe and America. One of the complex issues is the involvement of Africans in slavery and the slave trade.Wurche, who belongs to a royal family in Salaga-Kpembe, is wild and restless. She wants to help her father with strategy, but as a woman she is often rebuffed. She has an affair with Moro, a slave raider, but her father wants her to marry another man. When Wurche finds Aminah in a holding cell in Salaga, she sees the reality of slavery. She flees to another town with her son and Aminah to escape impending war. Aminah lives far from the coast in Botu, where camel caravans bring supplies and crafts, and the villagers sell food to the travelers. She is the daughter of a shoemaker who goes with the caravan to sell his shoes in Timbuktu and Salaga. Horsemen raid villages across the land, taking people to sell as slaves. Aminah is kidnapped along with others from her village and marched toward the coast to be sold as a slave. After several ordeals, she is sent to Salaga, where she becomes a servant to Wurche. She meets Moro and they fall in love. In the end, the two women have matured and must make decisions about their freedom and survival.The writing is clear and straightforward but shows promise of a strong voice as she learns her craft. The subject matter is difficult and has to be pieced together from scarce sources, so it is this combination that makes the book exceptional.

This is a unique story that shows us how the slave trade was not just about race, but very much about class. You will learn a lot along the way, you will think about this book for a long time afterwards, but you will read it because you will care about the characters and want to know what happens to them. One of the best books I've read in the last 10 years!

I couldn’t put this book down. The author is able to transport you to a different time and place while the characters feel extremely real and relatable.

I did find this book hard to follow in the beginning, mostly due to the unfamiliar names. Not a terribly compelling story but it did keep my interest.

It was a well written book. I like the fact that it was written from women's perspective and she'd light on the role that Africans played in the trans Atlantic as well as Aftican slavery. I can't wait to read more of her writing.

A very interesting story well told with eye opening facts about slavery. I loved how it was told from the pov of 2 different women

That was a great story I would have loved to see a finish to Aminah and Moro's story. Thank you for a beautiful story.

I love every page of the book. Vivid descriptions. She really takes and place you right smack in the middle of the scenes. Brilliant writing. Worth buying.

This book came to my attention thanks to a host of recommendations from my Ghanaian friends. I have finally read it and loved it. It is a story of struggle, loss and of love, beautifully told. It confronts the difficult subject of we West African's complicity in the slave trade. I loved the characters Wurche, Aminah and Moro. To manage to weave a compelling story from a poorly-documented history is a skill not many people have. I look forward to more from Ayesha Harruna Attah. So good to discover young, female West African writers. For so long, African fiction has been the domain of men. Highly recommended.

amazing worth reading

Beautifully written from two points of view during slavery and colonization in Africa. A little too short but a good read nonetheless.

J'en apprehendais la lecture car au début je pensais beaucoup au livre NO HOME (très mauvais titre en français pour le livre Homegoing de Yaa Gyasi). Mais très vite l'intrigue et les personnages t'embarque dans une aventure au Ghana, où tous cherchent une forme de liberté.