《为奴十二年》是一段美国最无法回避的真实历史，一个像奥巴马一样优雅的黑人在不懈地同命运抗争，历经艰辛地追求自由、尊严，12年后辗转返回家园。世界名著《汤姆叔叔的小屋》就是以本文作者的这段经历为原型创作的。无论是原著者，还是电影导演史蒂夫·麦奎因在这部作品中均要表达“我不想仅仅是生存，我想要生活”这一失去自由的人向世界发出的呐喊主题。《为奴十二年》的故事历经150年，仍然适用于生活在今天的热爱自由、崇尚人性和敬畏尊严的人们。
　　当你想放弃的时候，一定要看看这本书！

The story that inspired the major motion picture, with an introduction by the bestselling author of Wench, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Twelve Years a Slave is a harrowing, vividly detailed, and utterly unforgettable account of slavery.
Solomon Northup was an entrepreneur and dedicated family man, father to three young children, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Alonzo. What little free time he had after long days of manual and farm labor he spent reading books and playing the violin. Though his father was born into slavery, Solomon was born and lived free.
In March 1841, two strangers approached Northup, offering him employment as a violinist in a town hundreds of miles away from his home in Saratoga Springs, New York. Solomon bid his wife farewell until his return. Only after he was drugged and bound did he realize the strangers were kidnappers—that nefarious brand of criminals in the business of capturing runaway and free blacks for profit. Thus began Northup's horrific life as a slave.
Dehumanized, beaten, and worked mercilessly, Northup suffered all the more, wondering what had become of his family. One owner was savagely cruel and Northup recalls he was “indebted to him for nothing, save undeserved abuse.” Just as he felt the summer of his life fade and all hope nearly lost, he met a kindhearted stranger who changed the course of his life.
With its firsthand account of this country's Peculiar Institution, this is a book no one interested in American history can afford to miss.

　　《为奴十二年》是那种距离我们非常遥远，但只要一读，那种莫名的熟悉感就会扑面而来的故事。这也是为什么它写的是一段美国的历史，但却在今年撼动了整个世界电影圈的原因。因为《为奴十二年》中那些关于坚守生命、自由、尊严和信念的决心和执著，让人无法回避。它在奋力地为爱与亲情、为回家而抗争，它让冰冷的现代人潸然泪下。世界名著《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中的许多情节取材于这个故事，一个受过良好教育、会拉小提琴的自由黑人，被欺骗绑架贩卖为奴隶，他历经了十二年的非人生活，最终回到了家园。原来，在回家的漫漫长路上，无论时间，无论岁月，也无论地点，你、我、他都是一样的……

Solomon Northup (1808–c.1864-75) was a free-born African American from Saratoga Springs, New York, who was kidnapped into slavery in 1841. After his escape, he became an abolitionist and published his memoir, Twelve Years a Slave (1853). He gave many lectures in support of the abolitionist causes and aided in the Underground Railroad for fugitive slaves.

　　所罗门·诺瑟普（1808-1864），是一个天生自由的非洲裔美国人。1841年，他在纽约被人绑架，贩卖成为一名奴隶，直到1853年逃跑后，他成了一个废奴主义者，并写作出版了他的回忆录《为奴十二年》。这是他以自身亲生经历为蓝本创造的自传体小说，一经上市便引起了美国社会的震动，在美国再版了数十次。

“I could not believe that I had never heard of this book. It felt as important as Anne Frank’s  Diary, only published nearly a hundred years before. . . . The book blew [my] mind: the epic range, the details, the adventure, the horror, and the humanity. . . . I hope my film can play a part in drawing attention to this important book of courage. Solomon’s bravery and life deserve nothing less.” — Steve McQueen, director of 12 Years a Slave, from the Foreword (Various)   

　　原版的真实故事就已经令人吃惊了，而这部电影则更加令人震撼。——Film.com

　　影片故事精彩、情绪到位，史蒂夫·麦奎因的执导和叙事手法更是令人惊艳。——indieWIRE