Customer Reviews

Annie John

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Annie John is about a daughter in the throes of conflict with her mother. She is finding out about mortality and sexuality and that her mother regards her as rival for her father's attention.

When a group of high school students read this book in my class eight years ago, the boys in the back row all whined about reading "girl stuff." Presumedly they're older now and would have some interest in the struggles of their mothers, daughters, sisters, and lovers... not to mention themselves. After all, don't we all go through a period of gaining vision and resenting it simultaneously?

I was caught with the opening scene, Annie John sees people dressed in black and some in white bobbing in the distance. What is it? she asks her mother, who tells her it must be the funeral of a child since such burials are always held in the morning. "Until then, I had not known that children could die."

Annie John tells the tale of a family's disintegration. Told from the perspective of Annie, 10 when the novel starts and in young adulthood by its end, the story revolves around Annie's transformation from an adoring, obedient child to rebellious, hardheaded outcast within her own home. It's a classic mother-daughter love-hate tale where balance is somehow lost and animosity and divisiveness come to rule the day.

The story is rendered in a series of 8 chapters that effectively amount to a sequence of interrelated short stories each of which highlights and incident and/or event that stands as a critical turning point in the mother-daughter relationship.

The story is set in Antigua. This, along with the prosaic quality of Annie's narrative voice, add an element of the exotic to the story. It also provides the basis for the inflexible social structure that locks the combatants into rigid stances from which, ultimately, they cannot extricate themselves.

The book is well written and progresses in a stately and unrushed manner. It's not the sort of book you pick up and can't put down. In point of fact, I found I tended to put it down after every chapter-the short story effect lent itself to such a reading style and, as each chapter amounts to a major point in the story, that gave me a chance to assimilate and assess the story tot hat point. I found the book intellectually stimulating but I can easily see how someone not really gripped by the story could call this work boring, as quite a few previous reviewers have.

On the whole I found it a unique and interesting reading experience that, in retrospect, ought to have been somewhat depressing, yet wasn't.

On the whole, an intriguing book.

I read this book 3 years ago and it didn't really affect me very much, however, I had to study it for school this year and I now I love it. Annie's sudden detatchment from her mother and the effect that this abrupt change has on her home life and her entire concept of love, is fascinating.She moves from a world centered on her mother and love to a world of lies,hostility, pain and betrayal. The 'black thing' is decribed in such intricate detail that one is able to actually feel the pain and hate that annie feels towards her mother. Her struggle to free herself from her past and the heartbreaking walk to the jetty provide one with food for thought.

Annie John was a well written book, about a young girl who after being sheltered by her parents, suddenly becomes somewhat disconnected from them. It seems that as she enters puberty her relationship with her mother deteriorates. I believe that this is the fault of the mother who did things with her daughter that made her too attached, for example they often took baths together. When Annie's mother realises that she is becoming a woman she begins to treat her different and Annie feels as though she is alone in her own world without the love that she feared losing throughout her childhood. This causes her to develop a deep hatred for her mother whom she once loved so much. I cannot say that I relate to Annie however Jamaica Kincaid does such a wonderful job getting you actually feel the pain and happiness encountered ny the character.

This book is not particularly for kids, although teenage girls may well identify with Annie's painful process of emotional disengagement with her lovely mother. In 8 slightly related vignettes Jamaica Kincaid bares her soul, as she recounts her psychological journey from adoring only-daughter of 10, into a resentful and rebellious teenager. Raised on the island nation of Antigua in the West Indies, Annie is very bright though somewhat small for her age. She impresses her teachers with her quick mind; she is immediately noticed by her new classmates as well, but they gradually realize her penchant for mischief, which increases to a general defiance of authority.

Alas, as she matures Annie develops a dark side--weaving a web of lies, deceit, theft and flagrant disobedience. As a child she is surprised that even children can die; perhaps she is shocked by the death of her own childhood innocence. As a preteen she has secret or sudden friendships of incredible intensity; she is tormented by the desire for her body to ripen (lying top-naked under a full moon might help) and later by the jeers of older boys.

Most of all Annie practices a secret life nurtured in her own devious mind, as her feelings of love and respect for her mother are twisted into veiled hatred--an unverbalized enmity of long-standing, which may be inevitable when women (which she desperately wants to become) are at war. Is this the only way she can proclaim her own identity, by this cruel and silent antagonism before a father who seems not to notice?

Annie also wrestles with: conflicting beliefs about black magic; a terrifying protracted illness of both mind and body; and her confusion about her older father's sexuality. Walking the tightrope between modern ideas and centuries of vodoo practice, she despairs of escaping the confines of her island home. Must she travel to distant England in order to reclaim the right to her own womanhood? This is not a sympathetic protagonist, yet her inner struggle touches a poingant spring in the hearts of all women who have grappeled with the jealousy of maturation. ANNIE JOHN is amusing in parts, deeply provocative, and relevant to the universal woman, but with a distinctly dark side.

I wanted to read some of Kincaid's fiction, and i most say Annie John was great. I love the humor in her books, and how the characthers seem to come alive. Annie John is about the relationship between her and her mother. It makes one think of there own relationship with there mother.

I thought Annie John was wonderful! I am a young woman, early twenties, and I could definitely relate to Annie's experiences. Annie's progression throughout the book was wonderful, yet unfortunately not all young girls have such a pleasant result. In fact, I think this is a "must read" for college-aged students (not high school.. they may fail to fully understand its significance). My only question: who is the girl on the cover.. or is it a piece of art that was favored by the author? I certainly don't think it's Annie based on her descriptions.

A realistic, partly autobiographical novel that is emotionally affecting and a pleasure to read. Antigua is a captivating place in which to set the story, and like a former reviewer noted, the central female character is a breath of fresh air. It didn't knock my socks off, but it was definitely worth my time.

Annie John was a very engaging well written book that I think every mother and daughter should read together. Annie John narrates her life as a young black child living on the island of Antigua from the age of ten- seventeen. She was a curious, brilliant girl who has to learn to embrace the notion and reality of severance from her early childhood memories.
She and her mother, whom she absolutely adores, start out by being very close with one another, almost inseparable. Her mother would tend to Annie in so many ways: starting her baths, reading her stories, taking her shopping, and teaching her in every way how to be a strong independent woman. As time passes, Annie begins to notice how her bond with her mother has become undermined. She realizes that she has to go from a little girl and try to find herself as she grows into adulthood. In her transitions and struggles, she feels as if the passion and love she feels with her mother have diminished. Her mother begins separating herself away from Annie as she realizes the extent of her daughter's needs and her dependence. That only leads to Annie having much hatred for her mother. Annie begins acting out against her mother.
At the top of her class, Annie was a wise, mischievous girl who was quite popular amongst her peers. Throughout her days in school she made close friends with two girls Gwen and The red girl, who Annie sort of uses as a relief from the neglect of her mother. With all the intensity from the conflict between her mother and her realization of their separation she has a mental breakdown and becomes bed ridden for months. Her grandmother "Ma Chess" helps heal her. Annie survives and understands that she needs to leave the island and make a new life for herself, and begins to understand that we will not always be united with our loved ones on earth but will forever be bonded through spirit.

At first, I was a bit wary about wanting to read this text as "Lucy" had not been one of my favorites. "Annie John" however, for being such a slim novel, was packed with the issues that result from teen angst in combination with the ever problematic relationship of a mother and daughter.
Annie and her mother start off with a wonderfully intimate relationship that Annie likens to "paradise" only to see it crumble as Annie matures into a sexual being, becoming TOO MUCH like her mother. It is at this time that Annie goes looking outside the home to replace the mother she now calls "serpent." Once expelled from paradise, Annie does what she can to spite her mother by thieving and hanging out with girls her mother disapproves of.
Like "Lucy," "Annie John" seems to have an evil side to her. She is angry and flawed as well as self-loathing and arrogant. In other words, she is turmoil personified. Her dark side is one reason I found this book so readable, but perhaps the most compelling thing about the novel is the mother/daughter relationship. Perhaps no one has figured out why such relationships are seemingly always fraught with intense animosity and competition, but Kincaid certainly relates the horrific reality of the fact quite convincingly.
While this story certainly contains no idealistic or happy ending, it is rich in psychology and what can only be deemed as troubling personal experience on the part of the author.
I recommend this one to any woman (or man)who ever experienced the fine line of love and hate with her own mother once upon a time.