Customer Reviews

Long Memory

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Vangerry Oldham succeeds in weaving a fascinating story combining myth and reality in "Long Memory," the story of the fictionalzed Coatique-Moctezuma lineage which originated on one of the many Bahama Islands. The story is particularly significant in that little history of the area has been committed to paper; Oldham's prose should find its way onto Bahaman history bookshelves. The tale tells of the Arawaks on the Island of Bagwynatoo and their descendants and spans not years but centuries. This story is more than a novel. It is an epic that is well researched from beginning to end, and Oldham's clipped, British style of writing is refreshing to read. He explains the title of "Long Memory" as being a gift of the Coatique-Moctezuma line which translates to something akin to reincarnation, or extrasensory perception, throughout the bloodline.

This is not to say the manuscript is flawless. The author uses unconventional sentence and paragraph structure, the paragraph indentations are too large, and the headers and footers are switched around and not spaced properly. However, these are minor details that should not detract the would-be reader from tackling this fascinating although lengthy (600 pages) literary work. Vangerry Oldham set out to tell the history of the Bahamas - from the native peoples through the conquerers to modern times. He certainly accomplished this goal in a most delightful manner.

Submitted by Steven M. Ulmen for Gloomwing.com