Unburnable.Unburnable by Marie-Elena John Marie-Elena John (born 1963) is a Caribbean writer whose first novel, Unburnable, was published in 2006. She was born and raised in Antigua and is a former development specialist of the African Development Foundation, the World Council of Churches’ Program to Amistad/HarperCollins, April 2006 $23.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-060-83757-8 In her debut novel, John is, in one word, superb. Set in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, the story expertly weaves folklore and history as it travels between the present and the past. John takes the risk of incorporating many themes into a central story of three generations of women--and she succeeds. She touches on almost every aspect of the African Diaspora The African diaspora is the diaspora created by the movements and cultures of Africans and their descendants throughout the world, to places such as the Americas, (including the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America) Europe and Asia. : colonization, class struggles, immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. , internalized racism, ancestral traditions and religion, to name a few. The reader travels back to the early 20th century, when indigenous people were still visible in the Caribbean and when the children of African slaves freely held onto their traditions. The turning point in the story is the year 1947. After World War II, old customs were disappearing and modernism was on the rise, which is exactly what happens halfway through the novel. John's description of a tumultuous scene during jouvert, the morning before the official start of Carnival, captures these changes perfectly; the center of this scene irrevocably affects the lives of Iris, Matilda and the unborn Lillian. At the core of the novel is Lillian's journey to separate the fact from the fiction surrounding that eventful e·vent·ful adj. 1. Full of events: an eventful week. 2. Important; momentous: an eventful decision. night. She leaves home at age 14 and is tormented by half-truths and secrets, and by the mystery surrounding the deaths of Iris and Matilda. After spending 20 years in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , she returns to unravel the mystery. The reader is kept in the dark until the very end when all the pieces come together. For a first-time novelist, John has the incredible ability to keep the story flowing. There is hardly a moment when Lillian's story doesn't seem real. John draws the reader in, making her a witness to a rich history. Her book not only teaches but also entertains. --Reviewed by Denise M. Doig Denise M. Doig is a freelance writer and editor in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion