Lester, Julius. Time's Memory.

LESTER, Julius. Time's memory. Farrar Straus Giroux. 240p. bibliog, c2006. 0-374-37178-4. $1700. JS

In the Dogon religion of Mall, the life spirit, or nyama, lives on after death, but it must be properly cared for so that it does not become destructive. However, in America, too many

African people are dying in the slave trade and in slavery, and their souls are not being tended, so the creator god, Aroma, sends a young man, Ekundayo, to bring peace to the nyama. The first part of this somber, deeply felt novel of the slave experience tells of the mystical beginning of Ekundayo's life and about life aboard a slave ship. The second part tells how Ekundayo is sent to inhabit a slave's body on a Virginia plantation, just before the Civil War. This slave, Nat, is in love with the master's daughter, but Nat's father, Gabriel, is an angry man who wants to kill all the white people and recruits Nat, against his will, for a violent slave uprising that ends tragically. In the end, Ekundayo realizes that remembering the dead, writing down their stories, is the way to finally bring peace to their spirits.

Lester, the author of many books for both young readers and adults, based this tale on his study of the Dogon religion, and he includes a glossary of terms at the end. It's a rich and sad story, a bit reminiscent of Walter Mosley's recent 47, another tale of slavery with some mythical elements. It's certainly an unusual novel, and the dual character of Ekundayo/Nat may be hard for some YAs to follow, but it vividly and movingly conveys the horror and injustice of slavery. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT