When I try to explain my Jamaican heritage to people, I do so knowing that they can not fully understand why I love Jamaica as much as I do. I get comments like, "Oh, you're from Jamaica! I love Bob Marley! Yes, Mon." <----- (I really, really detest that one) or "Jamaica, I've been there, what a lovely country. Too bad we had to get back to our cruise." or "Oh, Jamaica, what was the name of that lovely hotel that we stayed at when we were there?" What makes me the most sad are the eyes that I get from so many people. The eyes that say, "You're from Jamaica? I'm sorry that you are from such a lovely, but poor and desolate place." All I can do is smile and secretly sigh on the inside because I know that people mean well when they pay "compliments" to the country that is at the very heart of my existence. It is the land of my mother and father. Jamaican (a fellow yaadie) Margaret Cezair-Thompson does a phenomenal job putting into words what is at the core of my love for Jamaica. She does a fine job of explaining the intricate details of the history that gives Jamaica the national phrase "Out of Many - One People". Set in the glamorous era of 1940's Jamaica, The Pirate's Daughter is the tale of two generations of women (a mother and daughter) and their struggle to find a place for themselves; not only in society but within themselves. Thompson does what no other author has been able to do when it comes to the land that I love. She is able to tell her tale and do so in a culturally sensitive way. She does so without the usual stereotypes about Jamaica that I have become use to hearing (but will admit still stings my ears and grates my nerves).
Her characters are multi-dimensional (as all humans are), so that part of her novel is ordinary. Multi-dimensional characters are what I have come to expect from writers. Her descriptions of our culture, her brilliant descriptions of the landscapes and the tropical climate, her accurate summaries of my frustrations and disappointments with the government is what is extraordinary. It makes her story compelling and irresistible. The character May captured my feelings best when she had the epiphany, "that it wasn't really the people or government of Jamaica that she loved [in particular]...it was the land itself." (Wow!!)
As they would say in Jamaica, "Mi haffi big up Margaret Cezair-Thompson, enoh?" Much respect. I look forward to reading more.
Her characters are multi-dimensional (as all humans are), so that part of her novel is ordinary. Multi-dimensional characters are what I have come to expect from writers. Her descriptions of our culture, her brilliant descriptions of the landscapes and the tropical climate, her accurate summaries of my frustrations and disappointments with the government is what is extraordinary. It makes her story compelling and irresistible. The character May captured my feelings best when she had the epiphany, "that it wasn't really the people or government of Jamaica that she loved [in particular]...it was the land itself." (Wow!!)
As they would say in Jamaica, "Mi haffi big up Margaret Cezair-Thompson, enoh?" Much respect. I look forward to reading more.
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