A thoroughly researched, painstakingly detailed, sharply written tale of a Black Carib chief.
A historical novel retraces the life of a revolutionary Black Carib leader and national hero.
At the close of the 18th century, Joseph Chatoyer, a Carib chief, led his people in revolts against the British colonial government of St. Vincent. The novel opens in 1754 with Joseph and his half brother, Duvalle, as adolescents. They are being received back into their community by their father, Chief Legotte, having spent a year staying with a French family on the Caribbean island’s western half. It was Legotte’s hope that his sons would learn essential knowledge about the French occupiers before they grew up to be leaders. After their return, a dispute arises over land and Duvalle defies the elders’ advice by planning to expel the French. The young Joseph reveals himself to be a natural leader by advocating restraint while allowing the young men of the village to deliver a graphic warning to the French. Joseph and his brother soon become subchiefs and witness the English seize control of French settlements on the island. Whereas relations with the French were mostly cordial (provided the occupiers remained on their side of the island), the English show little will to cooperate. The story charts Joseph’s progress toward becoming an esteemed chief who recognizes that his people must prepare to defend themselves against the new invaders. Sweeney describes in detail the tensions that built toward the First and Second Carib Wars; Joseph’s liaisons with French revolutionary advisers; and the tactical decisions and courage that nearly resulted in a Carib victory.
One of the most captivating aspects of this story is the manner in which Joseph and Duvalle appear to mature naturally as the narrative unfolds. It is intriguing to observe their differences in approach and subtle sibling tensions. This is something that Sweeney communicates elegantly through well-written dialogue: “ ‘Brother, you must promise me something.’ Duvalle, deep in thought, responded, ‘What, Joseph?’ ‘Please contain your temper when we meet these Englishmen. Let us use diplomacy rather than threats.’ ‘I’ll act the gentleman as long as they treat me with respect.’ ” The author not only displays an extensive knowledge of Joseph’s life and character, but also pays close attention to broader cultural details: “Uguchuru kept the hard-packed earthen floor swept clean. She used a small hearth in the middle of the room at night for light. Its smoke helped to keep the mosquitoes at bay. A stewpot sat to one side on glowing coals, exuding tantalizing smells.” Yet despite a desire to capture Carib life, Sweeney is often reluctant to expand the sensory descriptions. For instance, readers are left to guess the exact nature of the “tantalizing smells.” As a result, the audience learns how the Carib live but never has the full sensory experience of being transported to the island. This is a precise and enjoyable story that celebrates a daring national hero and draws attention to a striking and often overlooked moment in history. Those unfamiliar with the Carib chief will find this tale an education. Although it would have benefited from more sensuous depictions, the book proves to be a thought-provoking introduction to an important figure and his cause. A thoroughly researched, painstakingly detailed, sharply written tale of a Black Carib chief.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2022
ISBN: 9798986479507
Page Count: 383
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.
Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.
In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. This trajectory is interrupted when she receives an invitation to return to France to attend a ceremony honoring passeurs: people who aided the escape of others during the war. Cut to spring, 1940: Viann has said goodbye to husband Antoine, who's off to hold the Maginot line against invading Germans. She returns to tending her small farm, Le Jardin, in the Loire Valley, teaching at the local school and coping with daughter Sophie’s adolescent rebellion. Soon, that world is upended: The Germans march into Paris and refugees flee south, overrunning Viann’s land. Her long-estranged younger sister, Isabelle, who has been kicked out of multiple convent schools, is sent to Le Jardin by Julien, their father in Paris, a drunken, decidedly unpaternal Great War veteran. As the depredations increase in the occupied zone—food rationing, systematic looting, and the billeting of a German officer, Capt. Beck, at Le Jardin—Isabelle’s outspokenness is a liability. She joins the Resistance, volunteering for dangerous duty: shepherding downed Allied airmen across the Pyrenees to Spain. Code-named the Nightingale, Isabelle will rescue many before she's captured. Meanwhile, Viann’s journey from passive to active resistance is less dramatic but no less wrenching. Hannah vividly demonstrates how the Nazis, through starvation, intimidation and barbarity both casual and calculated, demoralized the French, engineering a community collapse that enabled the deportations and deaths of more than 70,000 Jews. Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale.
Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-312-57722-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
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BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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