This is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by William Styron (the author of Sophie’s Choice). It is based on a slave revolt in Virginia in 1831, lead by Nate Turner. Turner’s capture and confession is the basis of this book.

The novel is told in a 1st person narrative and is largely the work of Styron’s imagination. While it is brilliantly written Styron does include graphic scenes of highly erotic obsessions with various white women and one of the most vivid homosexual encounters in modern literature. Probably because of these scenes Styron was savaged by many of the leading black artists of the day but the book has endured the criticism and is, in many ways, an American Classic.

Slavery is an indelible stain on the fabric of American culture. It will never be washed away. Turner is an aesthetic, a religious fanatic, a brilliant, tormented misanthropic, homicidal nihilist. His band of followers slaughters 52 men, women, and children. In retribution the white slaughter 200 blacks. Turner is captured, interrogated, and executed. Instead of inspiring a region wide uprising, he is brought down by his fellow blacks fighting alongside the plantation owners.

It is a difficult book to read but it is a book that really should be read.

“The Confessions of Nat Turner” William Styron, 1966

Compelling is the word that comes to mind. This is a work of fiction based upon the actual event of Turners 1831 bloody insurrection. It is my option that a reasonably accurate portrayal of slave life and slave/slave owner relationships is presented. I will say that for my own part that, most of the time I was rooting for Nat. I don’t know that I have a clear understanding of Nat’s hatred except in the obvious; except for his education, why was his hatred so deep as to cause him to this violence? (In an afterword, Styron states that he believes Nat was insane but that in his novel he did not want an insane Nat) A thought that I had as I read the accounting was what if Turner had directed his energies toward educating other slaves? (Of course this would have been illegal but Nat’ owmer educated him.)

A compelling read and I’m giving it

5 full stars.

I initially purchased this book to read for two reasons: First, it was written by William Styron, who wrote the great "Sophie's Choice;" and second, it won a Pulitzer Prize. It was only after I was into the book that I learned that this vintage sixties' book was the subject of a major controversy over the depiction of the title character, Nat Turner.

I learned that Styron openly acknowledged fictionalizing large portions of Turner's life, including his motivations for leading the slave revolt. I also learned that Styron's largely fictionalized portrait of Turner outraged many black leaders of the time. Rather than painting Turner (entirely) as a hero, called to action by the injustices of slavery, Styron created a darker picture of a man fixated on religion, a vision of himself as a prophet, and frustrated by lust and desire (particularly, for a young, blond haired white girl).

As I read the book, I search my own feelings, and felt that if I were black, I would certainly have objected similarly. We all need our heroes, who become much larger as symbols than they could ever be as people. For the sake of those that come after, such icons are perhaps entitled to be treated with a greater level of sensitivity and care--even at the cost of literary restraint.

It is here that the story gets fascinating. After I finished the novel, I read Styron's Afterword. Styron was truly stung by the criticism and in the Afterword, provided an elegant and persuasive defense of his writings. While I will not say that Styron entirely changed my position, he definitely made me see the other side of the argument. The dialogue between Styron and his critics not only allows the reader to consider one of the great social and political issues of our time, but permits the reader a unique insight into the thinking of a great writer--and suffices, in and of itself, as a reason for reading this novel. MAKE SURE YOUR VERSION OF THE NOVEL HAS THIS AFTERWORD.

Putting the issue aside as to the real "Nat Turner," the novel itself is beautifully written. The characters are fully developed and believable. The description of the system of slavery and the relationship between whites and blacks feel very real, and very accurate. Styron shows us good and bad of each race, and how all of them are bound by the system of slavery and their actions directly the product of it.

I purchased this book, although I had read this several years ago. My interest to revisit the novel was aroused when I read The Good Lord Bird and viewed the series. There are strong parallels in the struggles and the motivations explored in these works. Styron is a talented writer who makes this history come alive and gather relevance. The brutal consequences of an impossible circumstance lives on through this century as the legacy of slavery is explored in splendid literary works such as this powerful novel. I highly recommend it.

I read this book for my book club and I thought it was beautifully written. It has stayed with me for weeks now. I love when a book does that. I'm glad I wasn't swayed by controversy. I had no problem with the fact that the author was white and using a black voice(maybe because I'm white - but I do like when an author gets the voice right and I thought Styron did that). I didn't understand the charges of racism after reading the book. Sometimes I wonder if, what some people find uncomfortable, they label as racist or sexist or whatever. Anyway, I would encourage everyone to read this book because it gave me a fresh awareness of a huge part of U.S. history, it reminded me that there are always gray areas to consider and it was a great novel. You might think so too.

I think Mr Styron may have took some liberties with Nat Turner's "orientation" without the research or data to support his opinion.

I enjoyed this book. As a person who enjoys history this book was a great read for me and the author gives an in depth vision on the trial.

William Styron, a gifted writer outdid himself with this book. His concise detail gives us an inside view on the depth of feeling employed by the subject of this book. The book while concise and tender pulls us in as these events take place. As Mailer delves deeper into the mind of Nat Turner, we cannot help but feel a sense of the suffering this man endured and this is what gives us perspective into this tragedy as it unfolds. A compelling masterpiece of literature.

Ce livre, basé en grande partie sur les vrais témoignages recueillis pendant le procès de Nat Turner, un esclave noir rebelle en Virginie aux années 1830, est passionnant, très bien écrit.

The pages were yellowed. I think it was a vwry old copy

Styrons novel "the confessions of Nat Turner" uses the most famous slave revolt in US history as the starting point for a fictionalized biography of Nat Turner and by extension black american slavery itself. He conjurs up the horrors of slavery and its banalities in a fast paced narrative that is also an evocation of the subtle beauties of the Virginia countryside. Overall Styron succeds brilliantly in recreating the peculiarities of the American past whilst providing a primer on race relations for the American present.

Brilliant book, well documented, a good read. I have it to my son to read and he couldn't put it down. That's saying something.

One of the best books I've read. The mix of fiction and nonfiction keeps your attention all the way