Beka Lamb (Caribbean Writers Series) [Paperback]

Zee Edgell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0435988441 | ISBN-13: 978-0435988449 | Publication Date: September 11, 1986

Set in Belize, Beka Lamb is the record of a few months in the life of Beka and her family. The politics of the small colony, the influence of the matriarchal society and the dominating presence of the Catholic Church are woven into the fabric of the story to provide a compelling portrait of ordinary life in Belize.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Twelve-year-old Beka Lamb lives in Belize City, "a relatively tolerant town" where people with their roots in Africa, the West Indies, Central America, Europe, North America, Asia, and other places, "lived in a kind of harmony. In three centuries, miscegenation, like logwood, had produced all shades of black and brown, not grey or purple or violet." Beka knows her family's history from Gran who tells of "befo' time," when they were slaves, and now, when Beka can win an essay contest at the Convent school: "Befo' time... Beka would never have won that contest... But things can change fi true." And change they do. Before she won the essay contest, Beka's days were filled with family, domestic work, food, school, neighbors, politics, hurricanes, and dreaming with her best friend, fourteen-year-old Toycie. Before the contest, Sundays were the days she and Toycie walked Beka's baby brother through the rich neighborhoods to the seashore and planned the redecorating they would do when they owned the houses they passed, the days Beka waited patiently while Toycie talked to her boyfriend. Before the contest, Beka lied, got caught, got punished, and lied again. Before the contest, Toycie was still alive. Beka Lamb is a beautiful and lovingly told story of a few months in the life of a young woman growing up in a time and place of constant change. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Zee Edgell is from Belize. She is the author of Beka Lamb and In Times Like These.

Product Details

• Paperback: 171 pages
• Publisher: Heinemann (September 11, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0435988441
• ISBN-13: 978-0435988449
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best!, October 27, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: Beka Lamb (Caribbean Writers Series) (Paperback)

This is a lovely, lyrical coming-of-age story that I think that most people who like to read would enjoy. It meant a lot to me especially because I was born in Belize, but came to the United States at a very young, and don't really remember this place that my parents and other relatives constantly talked about. BEKA LAMB described that Belize of former days and while not varnishing over the hardship, the poverty and the poor choices that women had there also showed the beauty of life in a close-knit community with its own history and rituals (many of which I know are now lost). I have been reading sections to my mother, a native Belize creole; she recognizes everything from the Sunday walks to the funeral customs and is very delighted with the book. But I don't think the book would only appeal to people from a Belizean background. It is also one of the best-done coming-of-age books I have ever read, which really delves into the minds and souls of two young girls (Beka and her friend Toycie) who are at a crossroads and will make choices that take them in very different directions.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant yet delightful, March 18, 2008

By 

Helen Laurie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beka Lamb (Caribbean Writers Series) (Paperback)

I first read Beka Lamb more than 10 years ago and read it again last month as the first selection of The Belize-Carib Book Club of Los Angeles. This is a delightful book that captured growing up in Belize as a young girl in the fifties. I have shared it with friends and relatives and I highly recommend it. I have read all of Zee Edgell's other books and short stories and found each of them captivating. There is no doubt that Zee Edgell is indeed very talented. I look forward to her future publications.

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars captivaing and compelling, October 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beka Lamb (Caribbean Writers Series) (Paperback)

The first time I read this book, it was a mandatory reading assignment in Catholic school in the Caribbean. I left that country and my copy of the book behind and have searched incessantly for it ever since. The story of "Beka Lamb" is a realistic portrayal of Caribbean life for a young girl. The political climate in the novel is still very much in existence today. The plight of the character Toycie is universal.A poor, uneducated, neglected girl, who falls for the first male who gives her an iota of attention.The overbearing matriachs and the struggle for Beka to assert herself as a woman is realistic. Zee Edgell's use of symbolism in the novel is superb.