Favourite Books (top 4)

TGIF! thought I might share books I have fallen in love with and have read over and over again.



 Annie John
Author: Jamaica Kincaid

(Image courtesy of bookrags.com) 

I have mentioned this novel in more than one blog posts. My love affair with this novel began in 4th form (grade ten) and the interest has not died. It was a prescribed text for literature and as usual I read all my texts before school even resumed for the Autumn term. It tells the story of Annie John and her childhood in Antigua, her fall out with the mother, friendships and the trials and joys of being a teenager. Jamaica Kincaid explores the theme of growing up in such a relatable way that you can't help to stop reading  until you reach the last punctuation mark ( then start all over again.)


Crick Crack Monkey

Author: Merle Hodge

(Image courtesy of barnesandnoble.com)

Thanks to mama for loaning me this novel. Like Annie John it explores growing up. Readers experience a change of personality in the protagonist Cynthia. She goes from a bold, adventurous child to an isolated, sad teenager. This occurred when Cynthia was taken from her precious "Tantie" after receiving a scholarship to a prominent high school. She is taken by her Aunt Beatrice, an aspiring elite. Cynthia has a difficult time adjusting as she endures scorn and teasing from her cousins because of her poor and "uncultured" background.


The Humming Bird Tree

Author: Ian McDonald

(Image courtesy of Macmillan-caribbean.com)

                                       
Now I might seem bias choosing West Indian novels, but what can I do? I live in the West Indies after all. Another prescribed literature that also explores adolescence and friendship. Alan is a white Trinidadian who often explores the village with his poor Indian friends Jaillin (whom he claims to be in love with) and Kaiser, who are in fact illiterate and work for his parents. He narrates his experience as a privileged white boy among dirt poor Indians in a time of racial segregation. However,  Alan grows and becomes knowledgeable about his status versus theirs, and begins questioning the friendship.


 Hunger
Author: Lan Samantha Chang

(Image courtesy of Amazon.com)

A mother narrates the tale of two Asian immigrants who met and fell in love while living in New York. She speaks extensively of the tragic marriage, one daughter's rebellion, while the other keeps her loyalty to the home and her mother even after her mother's death. The novella reveals how the the father's love for the violin and his desperate attempts to live his dreams through his daughters cost them their happiness.