Customer Reviews

The Penguin Book of Caribbean Short Stories

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THE PENGUIN BOOK OF CARIBBEAN SHORT STORIES seems to have a few missions in mind, but mainly, it strives to showcase Caribbean authors and honor the short-story form. While this was not what I expected when I bought it, it turns out to be mostly satisfying. A good number of works that I loved are included, ones that made me feel I was standing in the heat of a Caribbean scene, surrounded by the sights, smells and activities of the islands. WHARF RATS is a perfect example. Boys dive for coins thrown from cruise ships to the delight of disembarking passengers, but the real story is one of their personal lives and they are made real in this story of obeah-inspired revenge for unrequited love. TRIUMPH is the same. Lives of poor women living in an urban ghetto drag us into an area of town we would definitely avoid as tourists, but of which we are always aware. BAKER'S STORY shows racism on a level American's don't usually consider, when a Grenedian living in Trinidad has to pose as a Chinese man to make a living. This tale shows the diversity of the Caribbean in a way where the protagonist maintains his humor, but where the factual acceptance of race issues feels uncomfortable. An out-of-season calypsonian turns to thievery, a twelve year old boy (and his mother) come of age, balancing the inner warrior with a civilized life, and a dangerous convict returns to rob from the poor grandmother who raised him. All make up wonderful parts of this compilation.
Also included are stories of expatriates living abroad, or those who have returned home. Their lives have been changed by foreign cultures (American, British and Canadian) and old ways have either been thrown off, or clung to, or simply transposed to another place. I HANGIN'IN THERE PRAISE GOD is one such story where two friends reunite on a Canadian street. In another, a girl insists her friend EAT LABBA AND DRINK CREEK WATER to insure her return home, and when the curse/charm finally takes hold, the girl returns to an unrecognizable place and friend. A Hindu patriarch is moved to Canada and finds his wealth and way of life are slipping away. Some stories, although written by authors whose roots are in the Caribbean, were generic tales which would easily transcribe to any setting, and most of these were the ones I disliked. The lesbian lover, BABY was a lesbian first and a black woman second. MOON was any mysterious woman, and although I loved the tale, the mistress in Jamaica Kinkaid's SONG OF ROLAND could have been of any nationality. The same is true of MATTIE AND HER SWEETMAN. I loved it, but, set in Harlem, it had little uniquely island feel.
So many groups are represented and so many lives play out. One man raises game cocks, a lone woman strives to survive a hard life, and one man writes jingles to better himself before he is beaten down. All have dreams and hopes. This book tries to unite the diversity of the Caribbean with a sense of common humanity and it succeeds well.. I'd like to give 3 1/2 stars because the stories that didn't feel 'islandy' were too disapointing to balance the wonderful ones that did.