Because it was written in an older form of English, it took a moment to get into the rhythm of it. It helped having watched the movie first, which I admit I liked better than the book. Anyone who excuses slavery as something that happened because it was acceptable at the time needs to read this book to see there were people aside from the slaves themselves who knew and acted on their own moral authority. The “kind” slave owner is a myth to appease white guilt and fragility. Books like this are important to keep our history straight.