These pages breathe spirits and shadows. African and Brazilian landscapes are animated with vodu - "gods of natural forces and human propensities." Agotime is an exiled queen from the African court of Dahomey. Sold into slavery she is commissioned by her personal spirit, in a dreamlike passage, to transmit this vodu to her destination of Brazil. A deft use of language, such as "words washed with moonlight," "before daylight stripped the shadows of common things," and "like the chameleon, he walks softly, but he arrives," creates the experience of witnessing an enchanting and mythical event. The odyssey of Agotime transcends and eclipses the sinister motive for her voyage, as cargo in the sordid slave trade. An entirely alternate and vigorous point of view from history which is rendered with artistry - I highly recommend this book and thank the owner of a copy for having graciously loaned it out.

In Gleason's richly-descriptive novel, we are introduced to Agõtime, a beautiful former queen, too intelligent to be tolerated by her dead husband's son, now turned King of Dahomey. She is thus sold into slavery and shipped off to Brazil. The first section of the novel describes her life in Dahomeyan culture, with all its rich ritual and cruel history, following her career down to the Atlantic shore, where she is rowed out to a waiting Brazilian slaver in an open canoe, after having been branded on the breast. The second section of the book is entitled "Middle Passage"; the final section takes place in Brazil. While you can read the novel as a painful journey through exotic cultures and distant times, written in beautiful language, it is something more, a most pleasing, literary work of history and anthropology-in-fiction. What was the ultimate fate of Agõtime ? How did she die? The answer is bound forever to the fact that African religion is today alive and well in every Brazilian city and village. The African gods are twinned with Catholic saints and who is to tell which is in front ? How did this synthesis occur? How did African culture come to the New World--Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, the West Indies, and the USA--and become the powerful force that it still is ? Read this book for a deeper understanding of the tragedy of West African history, for one of the great human tragedies. This volume is a perfect companion to Bruce Chatwin's "The Viceroy of Ouidah", concerning the same period and locations, but speaking from the African viewpoint, unlike Chatwin's. Frank Yerby's novel, "The Dahomeyan" too, though not as strong, fits together with Gleason's powerful novel. If you are interested in either West African or Brazilian history, in the religion known as Vodun ('voodoo') with its mythology, or in a generally thoughtful, original novel, read this book. It is one of my favorites of the last 20 years.

This is the best book written on the matter of the goddess Oya. I am an Oya priestess and I have not only found this book to be very illustrative, it contains prayers, patakis, and a totally different version of the "Oya" then the one the western world has attempted to illustrate.

The author is very well informed and the context is well written.

However, I would have given it a higher rating should the author not have gone into the lengthy discussion of Oya's role in the winds and atmosphere. Although the author's information on the matter is quite good and informative, I would have liked to have seen more context on the works, principals and patakis of Oya than a lengthy discussion on her role in the winds and atmosphere.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to any Oya priest/ess or follower , student, or practicioner of the Yoruba religion.