Book Review: Wake by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez

Ok, I finished Wake by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez book on February 27, which means I didn’t get a chance to recommend it to you for Black History Month. But guess what? It’s also a great read for Women’s History Month! Can’t get your hands on it this month? That’s OK, it’s never a bad time to read about Black women’s history.

The subtitle of Wake is “The hidden history of women-led slave revolts”, and it does relate some of that history, but mostly it’s about Hall’s difficulties in trying to find information on these revolts and the women involved in them. I think it was a good choice to anchor the story in Hall’s research trips; without the portions set in the modern day, the book would feel scanty. With the modern sections, we understand why Hall is able to give us only limited information about her area of study.

And so this is a book that is less about “history” as in a collection of past events, and more about “history” as in the study of past events, and the body of knowledge created by that study. It’s about whose stories get told, whose names get recorded, and about the biases we all bring to our work and our attempts to learn.

This book does not make for easy reading. It gets into the realities of slavery, including the terrible conditions on the ships that carried enslaved people across the Atlantic (since these were a common setting for revolts). It also shows the current racism and denial that makes it difficult for researchers like Hall to access records that could help with her research. And it doesn’t shy away from the mental toll that researching slavery can take on people whose ancestors were enslaved.

Wake is a graphic novel, illustrated by Hugo Martinez. I like some of the artistic choices made, such as the use of reflective surfaces to show historic events alongside modern ones. But I didn’t really love the way Martinez draws people — maybe some of this comes from being used to a more comic book style of illustration, whereas Martinez is trying to make people look more like, y’know, real people. Also, I will say that the lettering style was a little difficult for me to read, but this is mostly just a reminder that I probably need to suck it up, admit I’m getting older, and buy some reading glasses.

There is a full cast audio drama, apparently, if like me your eyes are struggling with hand-lettered pages.

All in all, I do think this was worth reading. It was an important reminder of how biased the historic record is, and how narrow our viewpoint on the past is.

CWs and TWs: This book is about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. It includes discussions and depictions of chattel slavery, which includes violence against enslaved people and violent uprisings. There is gun-based violence and discussions of executions. It has mention of but no on-page depictions of rape. Racism is of course a pervasive theme in the book. The artwork is all in black-and-white, which does reduce the gore factor of the violent content.

Format and Source: I own a paperback copy of this book but I honestly can’t remember which local bookstore I bought it at, or when.

Reading Challenge Prompts

Book Riot: Book about a little-known history. When I saw this prompt, I knew that Wake was going to be the right book for it, and I didn’t even realize at the time how much it discussed why this history is little-known. This is a good reminder, too, that even historic topics that we think we might know a lot about, such as slavery, have depths we can learn more about.

Brick & Mortar: Cover is red. The contrast between the orange-tinged red background and teal figures in the foreground make for an incredibly eye-catching cover.

Physical TBR: I’m pretty sure I’ve had this book since 2023? Definitely since before the start of this year! So it counts for the Physical TBR challenge, which means it’s also time to donate to a good cause. I’ve contributed $50 to a fundraiser for R.S.A. Garcia’s cancer expenses. Garcia is a Black author in Trinidad and Tobago. You can read one of her short stories here. It felt appropriate to support a Black woman in honor of this book about Black women, written by a Black author. Check out this year’s Physical TBR post to see what all books I’ve read and causes I’ve donated to, and stay tuned, because there’s about three more updates coming this month.

Reading Challenge Progress

Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 6 of 25, no bingos.

Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 7 of 25, no bingos.

Book Riot: 10 of 25.

Physical TBR: 2 of 12.

Brick & Mortar: 18 of 25, 2 bingos*.
*I’ve completed several of the non-reading prompts, hence the mismatch with the number of reviews!

World of Whimm: 9 of 24, no bingos.