The Emigrants (Ann Arbor Paperbacks) [Paperback]

George Lamming (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ann Arbor Paperbacks | Publication Date: July 1, 1994

A compelling and intricate novel of emigration and the effects of colonialism on a people

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press; New edition edition (July 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0472064703
• ISBN-13: 978-0472064700
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #301,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Immigration and Loss of Identity, March 12, 2000

By 

Daniela Kahn - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Emigrants (Ann Arbor Paperbacks) (Paperback)

In Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe narrates the disruptive effect European colonisation has on old tribal ways of life. In George Lamming's The Emigrants (1954)the movement is the other way round: a group of West Indians immigrates to London in search of a better future. During the voyage on the ship, told as a kind of rite of passage from their old to the new world, they share past experiences, dreams, hopes and ambitions. The voyage however doesn't prepare them for the life of outcasts that awaits them in London, and the subsequent loss of identity. The form of the narrative adjusts itself to its theme: its continuous flow, which narrates the voyage, breaks up into several trails following the individual destinies that lose themselves in the smoke of London. Though not as great as In The Castle of my Skin, which I think Mr. Lamming's greatest novel, it is an intense book about immigration, cultural chock and loss of identity.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I wouldn't recommend it, April 14, 2011

By 

msmollychiu - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Emigrants (Ann Arbor Paperbacks) (Paperback)

I had to read this book for an English class and I did not enjoy it at all. Plot is hard to follow, characters are unlikeable, and the writing style comes across as confused and unpolished. I wouldn't recommend it.