Unbelievable! Child of the Dark is remarkable and genius because of the writer’s determination, the circumstance of her life and the originality of the novel. Carolina Maria de Jesus' story is at once unique and at the same time timeless. She takes us into the lives of those who live on the margins and who are made invisible by society’s attitudes in relation to class and race.
In the midst of the struggle and the scramble for the necessities of life and as she struggles to provide the bare minimum for herself and children, Carolina refuses to let go of her dignity. She challenges the dehumanizing process of homelessness and poverty in Brazil. She demands to be seen and heard.
As the reader takes the journey with Carolina, her honesty is startling and stark. The reader must admire Carolina’s love of the written word as she uses a third grade education to craft a report of the circumstances in which millions of people across borders are imprisoned.
by Bacchus
Friday, October 1, 2010
In The Castle of My Skin by George Lamming
The novel, In the Castle of my Skin, by Bajan writer, George Lamming, is filled with many sections of long minute details. The reader might feel a gnawing irritation at the attention he gives to what seems to be unnecessary information. The reader’s patience will be challenged by the sometimes long and drawn out descriptions of conversations and daily activity. After critical confrontation with his or her inner self, the reader will realize that Lamming is honoring the complexity of his Caribbean heritage as he works the double entendre and criticism embedded in the calypso style into the Europeanized version of the novel we, the colonized, take for granted.
The genius of Lamming’s novel seeps into the mind. This genius is his ability to take you into the world of those often ignored and use their positions to highlight the social and political consequences of domination; in order to do this Lamming slows us down and demands that we look and listen –look and listen to these voices as they confront the hypocracy of the two worlds they are required to live in, untangle and change.
The reader is confronted by the reality of what is taken for “ordinary,” or better yet, in brutal honesty, the reader, often expected to be the educated middle class, the Fanonesque reader, is confronted by the daily life situations of the people considered to be the working lower class, the poor, and therefore, inconsequential. These are the voices that are often believed to be so simple that others speak for them and declare their reality.
Lamming’s breaks the paradigm that knowledge of the world can only be examined by the educated.
by Bacchus
The genius of Lamming’s novel seeps into the mind. This genius is his ability to take you into the world of those often ignored and use their positions to highlight the social and political consequences of domination; in order to do this Lamming slows us down and demands that we look and listen –look and listen to these voices as they confront the hypocracy of the two worlds they are required to live in, untangle and change.
The reader is confronted by the reality of what is taken for “ordinary,” or better yet, in brutal honesty, the reader, often expected to be the educated middle class, the Fanonesque reader, is confronted by the daily life situations of the people considered to be the working lower class, the poor, and therefore, inconsequential. These are the voices that are often believed to be so simple that others speak for them and declare their reality.
Lamming’s breaks the paradigm that knowledge of the world can only be examined by the educated.
by Bacchus
Color Me Butterfly by L.Y. Marlow
Marlow writes a poignant story of family commitment, strength, and love. The journey is shared over five generations of women’s stories as they overcome tragedy and make change.
In this novel, Marlow brings to the reader the highs of young love, innocence and hope; and then she uncovers how what seems sure and predictable can crumble in the face of economic stress and the institution of marriage. She does not hesitate in her condemnation of patriarchy, sexism and the connections to anger and domestic violence.
The women of the novel refuse to be annihilated. They proceed on their journeys of survival and personal achievements. Marlow’s words call for you to venture into the depths of women’s unique challenges; she asks you to navigate the pain and the pressure of life while being uplifted by the resilience and stamina of generations of women.
Happy unions, celebration of birth, dreams and hope all flow through the novel as well as physical abuse, pregnancies, and mental illness; these are all a part of the family. These tragedies fracture and attempt to dismantle the basic frabric of family loyalty and the many female characters of the novel, but the women persevere, family links stretch, but do not break.
by Bacchus
In this novel, Marlow brings to the reader the highs of young love, innocence and hope; and then she uncovers how what seems sure and predictable can crumble in the face of economic stress and the institution of marriage. She does not hesitate in her condemnation of patriarchy, sexism and the connections to anger and domestic violence.
The women of the novel refuse to be annihilated. They proceed on their journeys of survival and personal achievements. Marlow’s words call for you to venture into the depths of women’s unique challenges; she asks you to navigate the pain and the pressure of life while being uplifted by the resilience and stamina of generations of women.
Happy unions, celebration of birth, dreams and hope all flow through the novel as well as physical abuse, pregnancies, and mental illness; these are all a part of the family. These tragedies fracture and attempt to dismantle the basic frabric of family loyalty and the many female characters of the novel, but the women persevere, family links stretch, but do not break.
by Bacchus
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
The novel, The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill is a sad rendition of the abomination of slavery. It starts in Africa recalling the story of families shattered and brutally murdered; it is a history of a stolen people. Love, bravery, strength, hope, and optimism run throughout the stories of ancestors and decendants allowing the reader to relive experiences, reconfirm human rights activism, and gain strength for the future.
The novel chronicles the actions of those humans who capture slaves and use them to create a world of material wealth. The stories of rape strip away any desire to see imperalist actions as human; it exposes man's inhumanity to man and woman.
Aminata’s life is continuously challenged as children are sold away permanently; husbands and wifes are permanently separated and women are impregnated by the unwanted seeds of white men.
Yet, woven into Aminata’s story are the many ways that humans find to share love and create futures; woven into the story is kinship and healing built on the very culture from which Africans were so roughly torn. As we run the gamutt with Aminata, we experience the length of a life that was born in freedom and eventually ended in freedom. Along the way Hill shows us the meaning of determination and survival.
Lawrence Hill tells a woman’s story. It is a story of resistance.
by Bacchus
The novel chronicles the actions of those humans who capture slaves and use them to create a world of material wealth. The stories of rape strip away any desire to see imperalist actions as human; it exposes man's inhumanity to man and woman.
Aminata’s life is continuously challenged as children are sold away permanently; husbands and wifes are permanently separated and women are impregnated by the unwanted seeds of white men.
Yet, woven into Aminata’s story are the many ways that humans find to share love and create futures; woven into the story is kinship and healing built on the very culture from which Africans were so roughly torn. As we run the gamutt with Aminata, we experience the length of a life that was born in freedom and eventually ended in freedom. Along the way Hill shows us the meaning of determination and survival.
Lawrence Hill tells a woman’s story. It is a story of resistance.
by Bacchus
The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
Africa, Liberia, home to ex-slaves, possible paradise so long ago; it was an unbelievable opportunity to return home, the land of ancestors, and build a life without chains. This story appeals to the dreams of many. It is about family and it is about survival.
In Helene Cooper’s novel, The House at Sugar Beach, this is the life we explore. What a great opportunity! To have returned to Africa all those years ago, to really be able to say, “I am African,” and to rise above the psychological trauma of slavery, was a part of the utopia. Unfortunately, Cooper is able to give the reader a taste of reality. If only it had come true in all ways, a return to culture and the language. We learn the good and the bad. The ex-slaves returned to Africa and took with them what they had learned about class and the accumulation of material wealth.
The House of Sugar Beach is far from sweet. Yet, Cooper grabs and holds your attention as the youthful characters expose the tender playfulness of children as they build friendships across the jagged edges of class differences. At the same time, she exposes the extravagance of wealth and the tragic consequences of superior attitudes and unfair social practices.
Political unrest is violent and destructive, bloody and cruel; women are extremely vulnerable and must defend themselves and their children. The story shows us various family structures and struggles; it shows confrontations and damage when citizens and state officials clash; and it becomes a story of immigrants.
by Bacchus
In Helene Cooper’s novel, The House at Sugar Beach, this is the life we explore. What a great opportunity! To have returned to Africa all those years ago, to really be able to say, “I am African,” and to rise above the psychological trauma of slavery, was a part of the utopia. Unfortunately, Cooper is able to give the reader a taste of reality. If only it had come true in all ways, a return to culture and the language. We learn the good and the bad. The ex-slaves returned to Africa and took with them what they had learned about class and the accumulation of material wealth.
The House of Sugar Beach is far from sweet. Yet, Cooper grabs and holds your attention as the youthful characters expose the tender playfulness of children as they build friendships across the jagged edges of class differences. At the same time, she exposes the extravagance of wealth and the tragic consequences of superior attitudes and unfair social practices.
Political unrest is violent and destructive, bloody and cruel; women are extremely vulnerable and must defend themselves and their children. The story shows us various family structures and struggles; it shows confrontations and damage when citizens and state officials clash; and it becomes a story of immigrants.
by Bacchus
Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende
Island Beneath the Sea is a fictional journey of historical magnitude. Allende’s talent is to be admired. Her words put the reader into the hearts and souls of the characters of African descent, the Haitians. She shreds any misunderstandings or misconceptions of the institution of slavery; she confronts any denial of the cruel sexual manipulation of black women; Allende names the criminal activity of the slave trade and the slave owners. The rape, the pedophilia, and the multiple attempts to dismember body, soul and mind cannot be ignored or forgotten.
But, do not be fooled. This is not a story of victims. As the reader interprets the story, it is immediately apparent that the women of the story are remarkably strong. They resist; they move heaven and earth to protect their kin. The love of family and culture is seen in the various relationships nutured and the many risks taken to preserve them.
Allende’s story builds from the intertwined personal stories that stand up to the brutality of colonization and culminates in the inevitable result of rebellion. The Haitians take control of their destiny. Alongside the stories of resistance, the story reflects the results of rebellion, the scattering of people, the eventual migration that accompanies the turmoil, fear, and poverty that is often the results of the transition from captivity to freedom.
But, do not be fooled. This is not a story of victims. As the reader interprets the story, it is immediately apparent that the women of the story are remarkably strong. They resist; they move heaven and earth to protect their kin. The love of family and culture is seen in the various relationships nutured and the many risks taken to preserve them.
Allende’s story builds from the intertwined personal stories that stand up to the brutality of colonization and culminates in the inevitable result of rebellion. The Haitians take control of their destiny. Alongside the stories of resistance, the story reflects the results of rebellion, the scattering of people, the eventual migration that accompanies the turmoil, fear, and poverty that is often the results of the transition from captivity to freedom.
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