Flight to Canada

Flight to Canada Synopsis

Ishmael Reed's parody of slavenarrativestheclassical literature of the African American traditionwhich redefined the neo-slave genre and launched a lucrative academic industrySome parodies are as necessary as the books they answer. Such is the case withFlight to Canada, Ishmael Reed's scathing, offbeat response to conventional anti-slavery novels such asUncle Tom's Cabin. ThoughFlight to Canada has been classified by some as a ';post race' novel, thevillainsand the heroes are clear.Three slaves are on the run from theSwilleplantation.

Among them, the most hotly pursued is RavenQuickskill, a poet who seeks freedom in Canada, and ultimately hopes to return and liberate others. But this particular Civil Warera landscape is littered with modern elements, from Xerox copiers to airplanes, and freely reimagines historic figures as sacred as Abraham Lincoln. A comedy flashing with insight, Flight to Canadaposes serious questions about history and the complex ways that race relations in America are shaped by the past.Thisebookfeatures an illustrated biography of Ishmael Reed including rare images of the author.