Yet, as it went along, I still found myself fascinated and surprised by the extremely interesting characters. Knowing this, I approached the story as a historical fiction. Sun tells us as much when they introduce the book, stating: 'Characters are, by and large, real people, acting within the bounds of available evidence.' The exact minute events and conversations may not be, but the people are very real. However, once I started the book, I realized just how much of it was true.

Since the book is described as 'counterfactual,' I assumed initially to believe that the story was purely fiction. I am not sure if it's common to be ignorant about this particular uprising or not, but I was. I am not a scholar of rebellions enacted by enslaved people throughout USA history, but I am interested in their stories, especially those that so often go untold. Kung Li Sun's Begin the World Overis described as a 'counterfactual' novel about the insurrection that resulted in the creation of Haiti. The resulting adventure masterfully mixes real historical figures and events with a riotous retelling of a possible history in which James must decide whether to return to his constrained but composed former life, or join the coalition of Black revolutionaries and Muskogee resistance to fight the American slavers and settlers. There and on the mainland they join forces with a diverse cast of characters, including a gender nonconforming prophetess, a formerly enslaved jockey, and a Muskogee horse trader. The formidable first mate persuades James to board his ship, on its way to the revolt in St. But when he meets Denmark Vesey, James is immediately smitten.

In 1793, as revolutionaries in the West Indies take up arms, James Hemings, has little interest in joining the fight for liberté -talented and favored, he is careful to protect his relative comforts as Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved chef. Begin the World Over is a fictional alternate history of how the Founders’ greatest fear-that Black and indigenous people might join forces to undo the newly formed United States-comes true.

Begin the world over kung li sun