A State of Independence [Paperback]

Caryl Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 1995

When Bertram Francis returns to his native St. Kitts after a twenty-year sojourn in England, the mangy, flamboyant island that greets him is astonishingly unchanged. Yet time and the bitternes of his island-bound family and friends have made him a stranger among familiar faces and landsmarks. A State of Independence recounts the first three days of Bertram's inauspicious homecoming, which coincides with the island's liberation from British rule.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Upon returning to St. Kitts after an absence of 20 yearsa homecoming that coincides with the island's independence from BritainBertram Francis realizes that he is a stranger to his family, friends and himself. PW found that "few readers will be able to resist this man, whose honesty, lilting language and penetrating eye contribute to the hope that he will indeed make a new beginning."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Bertram Francis left St. Kitts as a boy to study law in England. Now, 20 years later, he returns home, expecting a triumphant welcome from family and friends. But things quickly go awry: he sweats profusely in his English shirt and tie, feels cramped in his mother's tiny shack, discovers that the beer is much more potent than it used to be, and in general has a hard time convincing anyone that he's a native. What's worse, his mother is furious with him for never bothering to write, the "best friend" whom he hopes will find him a job denies that they were ever friends, and his former girlfriend seems to expect him to marry her. Phillips doesn't break any new ground in this short novel, and his prose style is competent but not exactly inspired. Suitable mainly for larger collections of Caribbean literature. Edward B. St. John, Loyola Marymount Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (January 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679759301
• ISBN-13: 978-0679759300
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Caryl Phillips is the author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction. His novel A Distant Shore won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and his other awards include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and lives in New York.