Review of “Elijah of Buxton,” by Christopher Paul Curtis

“Elijah of Buxton,” by Christopher Paul Curtis is a Newberry Honor Award novel about a young boy living in a historic Canadian community for runaway slaves.

Eleven-year-old Elijah was the first child born in Buxton, Canada, a small settlement formed by runaway slaves who escaped over the border. Elijah is viewed by some as a symbol of the newfound freedom available in Buxton. At the same time, though, Elijah feels a little letdown about the fact that one of the community’s favorite anecdotes is about Elijah as a baby throwing up on Fredrick Douglass, the famous escaped slave and Abolitionist orator.

Elijah is determined to prove that he is a a responsible person, but most people see him as “fragile” due to his phobia of snakes and nervous personality. But Elijah gets a chance to prove himself when a dubious local character who calls himself “The Preacher” makes off with a large amount of money that one of Elijah’s neighbors was saving to buy back his family members still in slavery. There is only one problem: The Preacher fled to America. But Elijah is determined to follow him and recover the money even though it will result in him coming face to face with the very horrors that his parents fled the United States to escape.

I was a little surprised by the tone of “Elijah of Buxton.” Overall the story is quite humorous. Elijah is a lovable character, though rather gullible. Christopher Paul Curtis did an excellent job of telling the story of Buxton, Canada through the voice of young Elijah. However the timing of the storyline feels a little bit scattered. Christopher Paul Curtis takes 222 pages before he gets to the main part of the storyline that defines and concludes “Elijah of Buxton.” The first two-thirds of the book are told like a series of short stories about humorous events in Elijah’s life. In contrast the last third of the book is very serious, covering much more evocative topics. This contrast is a little bit unusual, yet I think that it shows both sides of the story of Buxton, Canada. I definitely recommend “Elijah of Buxton” to young readers.

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