Books At Twelve-Ten Discussed Middle Passage

On Tuesday Books at 12:10 discussed Middle Passage, by Charles Johnson. Six dicussed Plot, Characters, and Language choices until 1:10. One thought the character Isadora became lost for them during the two months of the narration of the voyage of the slaver. For me, I had read Middle Passage early in the 1990's, Isadora had remained a clear remembrance - she did not ride on the "newfangled trains" because they would "suffocate all aboard when the speed sucked all the air from the cars." Because of the Animal Vegetable Miracle 2009 selection, a reference to "Animal, Vegetable" in Middle Passage, (page 77) brought the group to discuss the origin of the phrase - according to the internet, it was a Renaissance idea that all life was animal or plant. It is also the traditional first question from the game, Twenty Questions. Then also on the Internet, it is a song from Pirates of Penzance, "I am the very model of a modern major-general, I've information vegetable, animal and mineral..." Our discussion was interesting to all.