Jasmine Sealy | Barbados The Island of Forgetting explores aspects of Caribbean life that goes against the perception of the tropical paradise trope from vacation brochures. Sealy deftly maneuvers us into the lives of a Barbadian family struggling with generational depression and the secrets that hold them hostage from their past, the knowledge which would…
Category: Caribbean Lit
The Garden of Broken Things
Francesca Momplaisir | Haiti Similar to a plot of land that can grow yams, potatoes, herbs for seasoning food, plantains, and even nourish one’s soul, The Garden of Broken Things grows and harvests multiple disfigured relationships within one Haitian family. Francesca Momplaisir’s sophomore novel explores the complexities associated not only with family resentments and jealousies,…
A Woman of Endurance
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa | Puerto Rico I read the first chapter of A Woman Of Endurance, then I put the book down, because my heart was racing. I remember one of the first things that dawned on me was that Ms. Llanos-Figueroa is more than a writer: she’s a storyteller! If you were raised by grandparents…
Daughters of the Stone
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa | Puerto Rico I ran to this book after reading A Woman Of Endurance because I had to read everything written by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. Daughters of the Stone follows the lives of five generations of Afro-Puerto Rican women connected by a stone, brought from Africa by a slave woman named Fela. She is…
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba
Chanel Cleeton | Cuba In the last few years of the 19th century, the Cuban people were in a dire situation with Spanish colonization. Cuban revolutionaries wanted independence but were too poorly equipped to force out the Spanish, while the countryside was being destroyed by fire and farmers and their families were forced into reconcentration…
Fear of Stones and Other Stories
Kei Miller | Jamaica This is probably the most hard-to-find book on the planet! After many months of searching, I was able to get my hands on this out-of-print classic from Kei Miller, his first collection of short stories, and his second published book. Fear of Stones and Other Stories was published as part of…
Where There Are Monsters
Breanne Mc Ivor | Trinidad and Tobago I’m always excited about short story collections written by Caribbean authors, but more so for books that are written about my culture since I’m intrigued to read how a writer’s interpretation aligns with my childhood experiences and memories. Breanne Mc Ivor has curated a strong collection of short…
Olga Dies Dreaming
Xochitl Gonzalez | Puerto Rico This book taught me a valuable lesson about the power of patience and the necessity as a reader to allow myself to meet authors where they are and not try to get their creativity to conform to my comfort. Although as an avid reader I loathe to have my time…
Book of The Little Axe
Lauren Francis-Sharma | Trinidad and Tobago Historical fiction will always have a soft spot for me in terms of genres. Over the years I’ve become incredibly picky about which historical novels I read, because I feel many don’t particularly interest me. However, in 2020 Book of the Little Axe came on my radar and I…
‘Til the Well Runs Dry
Lauren Francis-Sharma | Trinidad and Tobago Marcia Garcia is carrying a heavy secret, one that alters her marriage, the lives of her children, and affects the relationships they have as a family and with others. Farouk Karam, her husband, is scared to tell his wealthy family he’s in love with Marcia, a poor girl of…
Here We Read For Fun 