In her lovingly written, richly imaginative and effortlessly joyful memoir, poet Lorna Goodison weaves the history of her family - 'the fabulous Harvey girls' - with the history of Jamaica. It is a powerful love letter to the people and places that have shaped her. 'Throughout her life my mother lived in two places at once: Kingston, Jamaica, where she raised a family of nine children, and Harvey River, in the parish of Hanover, where she was born and grew up.' When Lorna's great-grandfather, William Harvey, discovered a clearing at the end of a path trodden by the feet of escaping slaves, he gave his name to what was to become his family's home for generations. For Lorna's mother Doris, Jamaica's Harvey River was the place she always called home, where she was one of the 'fabulous Harvey girls' and the rich local bounty of yams, pimentos and mangoes went hand in hand with the Victorian niceties and comforts of her parents' house. Years later, when her fortunes changed, it was a place she returned to in her dreams...She and her husband relocated to 'hard life' Kingston and encountered the harsh realities of urban living in close quarters as they raise their family of nine children. Peopled with a cast of wonderfully drawn characters and written in a lush, vivid prose textured with the cadences of Creole, Lorna Goodison's memoir weaves together memory and island lore to create a vivid and irresistible tapestry.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Goodison, an acclaimed poet who received Jamaica's Musgrave Gold Medal in 1999, makes lyrical exposition sing with dulcet island patois in this homage to her mother, Doris, who grew up in the sleepy Eden-like setting of Harvey River, but raised her own nine children in urban Kingston under less coddled conditions. Starting on a supernal note, in which Doris bequeaths this book to her daughter in a dream, the memoir draws a richly textured portrait of a sprawling, well-to-do family, including seven strong-willed siblings with deftly sketched personas. As plump and pretty as a ripe ox-heart tomato, Doris—whose Anglo-African blood attests to Jamaica's history of interracial dalliance—joins her sisters in the clique of fabulous Harvey girls, their surnames trumpeting the family's landed-gentry status. But it's a working-class chauffeur—the author's father—who wins Doris's hand in marriage. Borne away from her childhood idyll, she takes in her first moving picture, produces a succession of offspring and plies her domestic skills, especially sewing, gamely weathering the vicissitudes of life outside paradise. Steeped in local lore and spiced with infectious dialect and ditties, Goodison's memoir reaches back over generations to evoke the mythic power of childhood, the magnetic tug of home and the friction between desire and duty that gives life its unexpected jolts. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“[A] loving memoir.” (New York Times Book Review Paperback Row )
“Being introduced to the cast of ‘From Harvey River’ is like sitting down at the family dining table. You’ll stay for the day then on into the evening as each new character pulls up a chair. You could not be in better company.” (New York Times Book Review )
“Goodison’s memoir reaches back over generations to evoke the mythic power of childhood, the magnetic tug of home, and the friction between desire and duty that gives life its unexpected jolts.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )
“Being introduced to the cast of ‘From Harvey River’ is like sitting down at the family dining table. You’ll stay for the day then on into the evening as each new character pulls up a chair. You could not be in better company.” (New York Times Book Review )
“Goodison’s memoir reaches back over generations to evoke the mythic power of childhood, the magnetic tug of home, and the friction between desire and duty that gives life its unexpected jolts.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Fabulous Harvey Girls,
By
This review is from: From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island (Hardcover)
Poet and college professor Lorna Goodison brings a heartwarming story of family life and community in the memoir of her beloved birthplace, Jamaica, in From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island. Goodison's great-grandfather, Englishman William Harvey, and his brother founded and built the community of Harvey River in 1840. William married Frances Duhaney, despite being told that black women were acceptable as concubines but not as wives. Their son, David, was a self-taught lawyer, who served his village for many years acting as legal counsel. His daughter, Doris, Goodison's mother, was one of the "fabulous Harvey Girls."The five Harvey sisters benefited from their family name; they were respected in the community and were expected to conduct themselves as ladies at all times. One time Doris was bathing in the river and a young man visiting from another town did not give her the privacy required. Well, that young man was called upon by David Harvey, Doris' father, and her brothers, at his relatives' home, and made to understand that the Harvey girls were held in high esteem. When they went into the main town of Lucea, all the young men turned out to gaze upon and win the charms of the sisters. Their maternal grandfather was an Irishman who later came to live with the family in his later years and one of their grandmothers was a Guinea woman who was said to have mystical powers. Such an illustrious ancestral background made for much family folklore, superstitions and unity. For awhile after Doris married Marcus Goodison, life was good, but when the author was a young girl in the 1930s, the family's fortunes turned and they were forced to move to Kingston to find work. Being in a big city as Kingston was an adjustment for Doris and her status as a Harvey was of no consequence. She was just another poor, young wife and mother trying to keep food on the table and raise her children. Her strength of character, however, would not allow her to give up. She became sought after for her excellent seamstress skills and she was the community mother and mentor to many children. Her children thrived and Lorna, the author, has wonderful memories of a special summer with her grandmother at Harvey River. This memoir was rich with tradition and beautiful detail. I could see the women washing clothes in the Harvey River and taste the Lucea yams melting in my mouth. Goodison's poetic writing brought the cadence of the language and mannerisms of the people of Harvey River to life. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy memoirs and especially love reading about different cultures of the Black Diaspora. Rating 4.5 Dera R. Williams APOOO BookClub
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great read,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island (Hardcover)
This book was a great read. If gave me insight to life in Jamacia. Not the The characters were human with all the foibles that go along with being human. You could see all the good, the bad, and the ugly of life, the weather, the living conditions, and the history that makes up island life. I truly enjoyed the pictures enclosed identifying some of the people i nthe book. All in all I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical reads.I think the books rates a 4.5. I know I should have given it 5 stars but I tend to give very few 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging Memoir,
By Melissa S. (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island (Hardcover)
Ms. Goodison manages to do what a great many writers hope to do but seldom achieve - produce work that is illuminating and engaging. This is a beautifully written book filled with rich, authentic descriptions of Jamaican life and offers an often candid view of her family and people. As such, whether you are from the Caribbean or not, I think that readers will be able to relate to the more universal themes of love, loss, triumph and growth and will become personally invested in Ms. Goodison's story.In addition, Harvey River provides a great historical context in terms of geography and social mores of that country and I learned a great deal. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and intend to share with my friends and family. Well done!
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