books, Caribbean
by Suzanne Bhagan

It’s a wrap – #ReadCaribbean challenge

 I must say that June was definitely one of the more rewarding months I have experienced this year. Thanks to Book of Cinz, a Trinidad-based bookstagrammer, I hopped on board a project to promote Caribbean literature to the masses on the ‘gram.

And what a success it was! So many people reached out and shared their recommendations. So with that, here’s a wrap up of the Caribbean books I featured for Caribbean Heritage Month 2019.

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If you’re just joining us, @bookofcinz, myself, and a host of other #Caribbeanbookstagrammers have been posting furiously to promote the #ReadCaribbean challenge. The challenge invites readers to celebrate Caribbean Heritage Month this June by reading works by Caribbean authors, about the Caribbean, or set in the region. For Day 8 of the photo challenge, I am posting a Caribbean historical fiction read by Lawrence Scott. Scott is a Trinidadian writer based in the UK who has published several novels and short stories. The former Benedictine monk’s novel, Light Falling on Bamboo, focuses on the life and times of acclaimed 19th century Trini painter Michel Jean Cazabon. In particular, the work reveals the attitudes of the artist and others living under the then plantation society. What Caribbean historical fiction are you reading this month?

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For Day 9 of the #ReadCaribbean photo challenge, I’m posting a book that represents translated Caribbean literature. Some may argue that Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Latin American writer but I definitely also consider him a Caribbean author. Many people don’t know that Colombia is washed on one side by the Caribbean Sea. Marquez was born in the coastal town of Aracataca and the Caribbean landscape and sensibility there definitely affected his writing. In a 1982 interview, he said, “I believe the Caribbean showed me how to see reality in another way, to accept supernatural elements as something that forms part of our daily life.” One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien Años de Soledad) is his magnum opus.The story crosses several generations of the ill-fated Buendia family in the fictitious and magical place of Macondo. I reread it a couple of times and it still surprises me. Have you read any Marquez? What translated Caribbean literature are you reading this June?

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Day 13 of the #ReadCaribbean challenge calls for a book from a CARICOM state. Some of you may have no idea what CARICOM is so let me explain. CARICOM stands for Caribbean Community. Created in 1973, it includes 15 member states – Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. It also includes 5 associate members – Anguilla, Barbuda, British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos islands. The point of CARICOM is to encourage better cooperation among Caribbean countries regarding economic integration, foreign policy, security, and human and social development. According to its website, it’s “the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world.” I’ve chosen The Carnival Trilogy by Wilson Harris for today’s photo challenge. Harris is a notoriously difficult writer whose work has been described as "quantum fiction" “abstract” “dense” “Jungian” and “mystical.” With a previous background as a government surveyor, Harris’ work forces you to explore the Guyanese landscape in deep and unconventional way. Have you ever read Wilson Harris? Who are reading for today’s challenge? Sound off in the comments below!

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It's June 15 and we’ve made it to the halfway mark of this month’s #ReadCaribbean challenge. If you’ve been following the hashtag, you may have come across so many great books from the team of Caribbean bookstagrammers leading the fore and from everyone who decided to take up the challenge. For Day 15, I’m posting a Caribbean book that is considered postcolonial literature. Now, postcolonialism is a contentious topic. It implies that the colonizers actually left. Some argue that they never really left and that they still hold the colonies in their vise-grip via neo-colonialism in the forms of cultural influence and unfair trade relationships. In general, however, postcolonial lit tends to “write back” to the imperial center and explore the aftermath of colonization. One book that epitomizes this is The Mimic Men by VS Naipaul published in 1967. Here we find Ralph Singh, a disillusioned politician living in exile in Britain trying to write his memoir. During the process, he struggles to come to terms with his fractured identity and sense of displacement. He feels as though he belongs nowhere. He is not Caribbean enough for his island of Isabella, not Indian enough for the faraway, original homeland India, and not British enough to live in the mother country. What postcolonial Caribbean lit are you reading today?

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“I began to feel alternately too big and too small. First, I grew so big that I took up the whole street; then I grew so small that nobody could see me — not even if I cried out.” – Annie John Do you know Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid? If you do, then you know it's the perfect choice for Day 20 of the #ReadCaribbean challenge this June. Published in 1985, Annie John epitomizes Caribbean YA fiction. Annie, the protagonist, has to deal with growing up in colonial Antigua, especially in her relationship with her mother. We see her struggling to understand how and why her mother's attitude to her changes once puberty hits. What Caribbean #YAfiction are you reading today? Thank you @gailrenatta for this pre-loved edition! ☺

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"Gita can't believe she's in Kolkata. All she knew of the city was that her great-great grandmother got on the ship here for Chinidad, the land of sugar. She had no records, no photographs, only the bare bones of stories her father told her." Homecoming by Suzanne Bhagan For Day 23 of this June's #ReadCaribbean challenge, I am featuring We Mark Your Memory, a collection published by both the University of London (2018) and Peekash Press (2019). In collaboration with Commonwealth Writers, this collection of new writing from across the Commonwealth explores Indian indentured heritage in the 21st century. When slavery was abolished in the 19th century in the Caribbean, the first Indian indentured laborers came to the then British colonies to plug the gap. These workers from the subcontinent entered into/were often coerced into signing contracts to work on the sugar plantations there. We Mark Your Memory features a host of authors of Caribbean heritage – David Dabydeen, Kevin Jared Hosein, Gabrielle Jamela Hosein, Anita Sethi, Stella Chong Sing, Jennifer Rahim, Patti-Anne Ali, Lelawattee Manoo-Rahming, Gaiutra Bahadur, Fawzia Muradali Kane, Arnold Thomas, and myself. My debut short story "Homecoming" explores the experiences of a young Indo-Trinidadian couple who visit India for the first time and face instant culture shock in their attempts to make a connection with their "long-lost homeland." What debut Caribbean author are you reading today?

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"If you happen to be born into an Indian family, an Indian family from the Caribbean, migratory, never certain of the terrain, that’s how life falls down around you. It’s close and thick and sheltering, its ugly and violent secrets locked inside the family walls. The outside encroaches, but the ramparts are strong, and once you leave it you have no shelter and no ready skills for finding a different one. I found that out after years of trying.” For the final day of this June's #ReadCaribbean challenge, I'm featuring a book about a family of Caribbean heritage. In The Swinging Bridge (2003) by Trinidadian-Canadian author Ramabai Espinet, the main protagonist, Mona, must leave Canada to buy back the family land in Trinidad. Although reluctant at first, she uses this opportunity to discover her family's roots and skeletons in the closet on the island. This novel was also shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the Caribbean and Canada region in 2004. What Caribbean family book are you reading today?

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