I have always had a lifelong passion for all things maritime. In the early 1980s, I crossed the Atlantic Ocean as a crew companion to the late famous Captain Ted Falcon Barker, author of The Devil’s Gold. The expedition made landfall in the Bahamas, so this area became a focus of fascination. I also have a very strong historical sense, reflected in my poetry and two of my other works of fiction, the novels Charity Amour and No Gentle Bondage.
Shiva Naipaul is a truly major Caribbean writer. He captures the volatile essence of that extremely unstable society. One added bonus is his inter-racial perspective, to which his Indian origins contributes decisively. This work ‘views a colonial world sharply with postcolonial perspectives.’ Any reader of West Indies fiction should combine a sense of history with some grasp of contemporary conditions. Although the novel was written in the 1960s, it still has a sense of contemporary relevance. Obviously, readers must keep their eyes open for younger writers in this mode. Naipaul’s works have rightly been integrated into the Educational System.
Heart-rending and darkly comic, V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas has been hailed as one of the twentieth century's finest novels, a classic that evokes a man's quest for autonomy against the backdrop of post-colonial Trinidad.
Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an introduction by writer Teju Cole.
Mr Biswas has been told since the day of his birth that…
I think it provides an excellent introduction to the West Indies to devotees of Bond movies and the like. In a highly contemporary way, via ‘disappearing ships and airplanes,’ it emphasises the continuity of an extremely hazardous, unstable environment. Readers should get a sense of affinity between the adventures and misadventures of early sailors with those supremely equipped with new tech. The fascination of buried treasure persists through the centuries.
First published in 1975, an investigation into mysterious and paranormal occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle, which discusses various theories for the area's notorious record of disappearing ships, such as UFOs, electromagnetic impulses, and even space time-warps.
This book is set in Montauk, under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montauk’s last parcel of undeveloped land. Everyone in town has a…
Michener’s work is an historical panorama, embracing pre-Columbian history, the colonial era – including piracy, right up to the rise of Fidel Castro’s regime. ‘No holds barred.' An absolute ‘must’ for anyone wanting a full background perspective. I found this a fantastic broadener of my horizons.
In this acclaimed classic novel, James A. Michener sweeps readers off to the Caribbean, bringing to life the eternal allure and tumultuous history of this glittering string of islands. From the 1310 conquest of the Arawaks by cannibals to the decline of the Mayan empire, from Columbus’s arrival to buccaneer Henry Morgan’s notorious reign, from the bloody slave revolt on Haiti to the rise of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Caribbean packs seven hundred dramatic years into a tale teeming with revolution and romance, authentic characters and thunderous destinies. Through absorbing, magnificent prose, Michener captures the essence of the islands in all…
This work brilliantly puts the literary motif of ‘coming of age’ into a Caribbean context. It was set in the 1930s-40s. Novels which concentrate in depth on a specific period are highly beneficial to a reader’s sense of historical perspective. Stylistically, I very much appreciate its combination of first-person and third-person narration. In the Castle of My Skin tells the story of the mundane events in a young boy’s life that take place amid dramatic changes in the village and society in which he lives. The novel uses modernist devices such as shifting perspectives and unreliable narration to recount the boyhood of a fairly traditional fictional protagonist: a sensitive, unusually intelligent young boy, with a protective mother, who, because of his intelligence, takes an independent path.”
Nearly forty years after its initial publication, George Lamming's In the Castle of My Skin is considered a classic narrative of the Black colonial experience. This poetic autobiographical novel juxtaposes the undeveloped, unencumbered life of a small Caribbean island with the materialism and anxiety of the twentieth century.
Written when Lamming was twenty-three and residing in England, In the Castle of My Skin poignantly chronicles the author's life from his ninth to his nineteenth year. Through the eyes of a young boy the experiences of colonial education, class tensions, and natural disaster are interpreted and reinterpreted, mediated through the presence…
For the British public, cricket is a major factor in awareness of the West Indies. It is also a critique of colonialism – introduced by the colonisers, which those taught truly made their own. C L R James, a prominent thinker of the twentieth century, was devoted to the game. In this classic summation of half a lifetime spent playing, watching, and writing about the sport, he recounts the story of his overriding passion and tells us of the players whom he knew and loved, exploring the game's psychology and aesthetics, and the issues of class, race, and politics that surround it. The author is “A central figure in the Pan-African movement and the struggle for colonial emancipation.” The socio-political theme is integrated with a study of Caribbean boyhood.
This new edition of C. L. R. James's classic Beyond a Boundary celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of one of the greatest books on sport and culture ever written. Named one of the Top 50 Sports Books of All Time by Sports Illustrated "Beyond a Boundary ...should find its place on the team with Izaak Walton, Ivan Turgenev, A. J. Liebling, and Ernest Hemingway."-Derek Walcott, The New York Times Book Review "As a player, James the writer was able to see in cricket a metaphor for art and politics, the collective experience providing a focus for group effort and individual performance...[In]…
The sub-title is A Tale of Historic Jamaica. It is set in the eighteenth century and explores the context of the slave trade, the plantation system, and piracy in the West Indies. There are some forceful characters: Eboinée had been a princess or chieftainess in Africa before her kidnapping. Once settled, she wields great power, including her command of Obeah magic. Equally impressive is the ‘Pirate Queen’ Kate Goshawke, who manages to be ultra-macho and ultra-feminine. Some interracial reference here: ‘hero’ En Jon Dow is of mixed Indian and Caucasian blood. The renegade women characters are counterpointed against plantation owner Esmé Durrance. There is a web of ‘cross-cultural’ intrigue, embracing treasure and assassination attempts. No Gentle Bondage pulls no punches: a Caribbean feast indeed!
Brother. Do. You. Love. Me. is a true story of brotherly love overcoming all. Reuben, who has Down's syndrome, was trapped in a care home during the pandemic, spiralling deeper into a non-verbal depression. From isolation and in desperation, he sent his older brother Manni a text, "brother. do. you.…
At the age of forty-nine, Laurie Woodford rents out her house, packs her belongings into two suitcases, and leaves her life in upstate New York to relocate to Seoul, South Korea. What begins as an opportunity to teach college English in Asia evolves into a nomadic adventure.
