#BlackHistoryMonth Caribbean literature
30.
by 
Finish date: 22 February 2022
Genre: novel
Rating: B-
Review:
Good news: Narrator: Gertrude Samphire (70+) Historical timeline: pre-independence Jamaica (Aug 6 1962) right up to recent years. Timeline: 2-3 years –> Gertrude’s years in the retirement center. Structure: Chapters alternate between present time with ‘flashback” moments. Genre: Bildungsroman….but in the opposite direction!
Theme: abandonment.
Personal: Gertrude looks back…to the past…in her memories of her gloomy childhood, impetuous marriage, and struggles with raising a family. She keeps a journal that is filled with insight and dry humour…and takes the book beyond the everyday experience. Gertrude has seen too much,…heard too much and …lived through too much.
NancyElin.blog 