I don't know how I've never before heard the story of Henry "Box" Brown who crammed himself into a box in Virginia and had his friend ship the box to the anti-slavery office in Philadelphia AND IT WORKED! I told my husband about his journey (during which he is placed upside down TWICE!) and he told me that being crammed into a teeny space and put upside down for hours at a time would be his worst nightmare. I thought that was an interesting sentiment because I felt very differently while reading this book. Slavery sounds much, much worse. Losing my spouse and kids because a slave-owner didn't keep his promise and sold them to a place I will never be able to find them would be a much greater nightmare. Taking a cramped and painful ride in a box for a few days actually sounds like a cake walk compared to the rest of Henry's life.
The text of this very short book was written in "sixains" - poems with six lines - to represent the six sides of a box. While I appreciate the geometry connection, I didn't find the text particularly engaging and actually thought the poems made the story hard to follow.
Final Feeling: I am so glad that Henry Brown successfully escaped slavery through his own ingenuity and inspiration from God. But the fact that he never sees his wife Nancy and his four kids again makes this story a tragedy for me.
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