D'Aguiar, Fred *1960

Feeding the Ghosts, 1997 - Thematic Parallels: Slavery

Slavery is the practice or institution in which one person is owned by another and treated as property, deprived of personal liberty, and subjected to forced labor or other forms of exploitation.
D'Aguiar, Fred: Feeding the Ghosts, 1997
The novel explores the brutality and inhumanity of the transatlantic slave trade. It critiques the legal and moral systems that allowed such crimes to occur without consequence.
The following books are thematically similar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared compared with each other, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Draper, Sharon M.: Copper Sun, 2006, ~300pp
  The book vividly portrays the brutality of slavery and the resilience of those who endured it.
  - Both novels are powerful explorations of the trauma and resilience of enslaved people, but Copper Sun emphasizes personal growth and friendship, while Feeding the Ghosts uses poetic symbolism and a postcolonial lens to reflect on memory and historical atrocity. The nuanced alignment lies in their shared commitment to remembering and resisting the horrors of slavery.
- Cooper, J. California: Family, 1991, ~150pp
  A narrative that follows multiple generations of an enslaved family, told from the perspective of a spirit who watches over her descendants.
  - Both novels explore the historical and emotional legacies of slavery, but they approach these themes through distinct lenses. Cooper’s work is more intimate and grounded in family and domestic experience, while D’Aguiar’s is more experimental and focused on collective historical trauma. Both, however, seek to ensure that the ghosts of history are neither forgotten nor silenced.
- Morrison, Toni: Beloved, 1987, ~270pp
  The novel explores the intense and often tragic bonds between Sethe and her children, shaped by the brutality of slavery and the desperate choices it forces upon mothers. Sethe’s decision to kill her daughter is portrayed within the context of her desperate desire to protect her from the horrors of enslavement.
  - While Morrison uses a domestic, intimate lens rooted in psychological realism and magical elements, D’Aguiar adopts a historical-poetic approach. Yet both align in arguing that confronting the past—no matter how painful—is essential to healing, justice, and understanding.
- Wright, Richard: Native Son, 1940, ~400pp
  A novel that details the experiences growing up in the segregated American South and the confrontation with racism and poverty.
  - Both novels expose brutal realities of racial violence and systemic dehumanization, but Native Son focuses on the effects of racism, poverty, and social oppression on an individual in urban America, while Feeding the Ghosts examines the historical origins and enduring consequences of racial trauma through the context of the transatlantic slave trade.
List of general discussion questions on Slavery (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Slavery (pdf)