Stories from Jamaica & Other Caribbean

‘Delightful!’ is my term for this category. The stories cover a variety of themes. If you are a senior citizen like me, there are stories that will take you back to the culture of ‘old times’ and remind you of the happenings of those days – the long walks to school, carrying water jug on your head, playing cricket in the backyard,  climbing trees, bathing in the river, neighborhood issues… and it goes on. But of course there are sassy modern stories, depicting love and relationships, class and gender, race and color, just to mention a few of the well- known general themes. It does seem to me though that the Caribbean story teller brings an authenticity and a way of expressing (a language?) that is decidedly different. Authentic because there is more often than not a truth in the basic tenets of the narrative and therefore the reader experiences the realness.  I am delighted to recognize myself, my mother, my daughter, my country, my way of life in the stories that I read.  Growing up I always read about other people, other styles – the Jane Austin’s, the Mark Twain’s, the Henry James’, the Charles Dickens’ etc. –  but though thoroughly enjoyable, I could never see myself in these stories. They were just captivating tales about a dreamlike world.

Now that my world is included in so many stories I can half-fill my library with books on my own stories, I can laugh at the characters doing the quirky things that I engage in, I can relate to the lifestyles, the culture, the style of communication, the story telling style engaged by the writer. I know that parents and grandparents of Caribbean children living in various parts of the world are excited about sharing their Caribbean experience with their kids and their friends. This website plans to play a small part in making that happen by making Caribbean books and Caribbean writers one of our significant discussion topics.

There is much to enjoy!

Link to the List at : “Great Caribbean Novels“