Set in 1857 near Chatham, in Canada West, Elijah of Buxton is the story of Elijah who, at almost twelve years old, is the first freeborn resident of a settlement of former slaves. Though he is diligent in his school work, reliable about finishing his chores around the farm, and always ready to help a neighbour, Elijah struggles to throw off a reputation for being fragile. To his parents’ concern, he frightens too easily and cries too readily, and his mother is frequently heard to state that the boy would never have been able to stand up to the harshness of slavery.
To Elijah’s everlasting embarrassment, he is famous for having thrown up all over Frederick Douglass, a story that has grown to take on epic proportions. The fact that it occurred when Elijah was but a baby has in no way deterred people from pointing to it as added proof of his fragility. Elijah would prefer to be known for his skill at chucking stones, both with his right and left hands. He can throw stones so swiftly and accurately that he is able to fish in the local lake simply by luring fish to the surface of the water with horseflies and then taking aim.
With his best friend, Cooter, Elijah attends school and church, helps the residents of Buxton, where all members of the community are pledged to aid their neighbours to the best of their abilities, and plays rousing games of Slaver and Abolitionist. Both boys find school a little taxing since the teacher, Mr. Travis, is less than stimulating. When Cooter, having seen Mr. Travis write “Familiarity Breeds Contempt” on the chalkboard, jumps to a hilarious and completely erroneous conclusion about the subject for their upcoming lesson, both he and Elijah have reason to remember the lesson for years to come.
The men and women of Buxton have come to Canada West to begin new lives, signalled in the settlement by the ringing of the Liberty Bell for each new resident, five to signal the end of their old lives, and five to signal the beginning of their new lives. Some, such as Mrs. Holton and Mr. Leroy, have escaped slavery, but must live with the knowledge that their loved ones, spouses and children, remain enslaved. As Elijah’s pa says, each of the former slaves carries with them the scars of their experiences, some of them physical and terrible, others emotional and spiritual and always worse.
Elijah is weary of being treated as a child, and eager to prove that he has put his fragility behind him, but, when a local man offers to take the money Mr. Leroy has worked day and night for four years to raise so that he can buy his wife and children out of slavery and then disappears, the young boy feels that he has to see if he can’t help to make things right. With Mr. Leroy, Elijah sets out on a journey that tests everything he knows about right and wrong, and teaches him that sometimes all that you can grab onto, when dark clouds roll in, is the silver lining.
Elijah of Buxton will cause laughter and tears. It will catch you up and pull you into Elijah’s life and that of the residents of Buxton. Beautifully written, this book will resonate with you long after the last words are read. It is destined to be a classic.
FernFolio Editor
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
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