This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“Amma then spent decades on the fringe, a renegade lobbing
hand grenades at the establishment that excluded her | until the mainstream
began to absorb what was once radical and she found herself hopeful and joining
it | which only happened when the first female artistic director assumed the
helm of the National three years ago” – Bernardine Evaristo, Chapter 1: Amma,
Page 13
“Before arriving at Spirit Moon, Dominique had naively
thought of housebuilding in purely romantic terms; she’d imagined her lean,
long, much admired body becoming even more toned, supple and strong through
using it as nature intended – working in the great outdoors, doing strenuous
physical exercise, enjoying camaraderie with her co-workers, getting sweaty and
dusty and looking forward to showering it of at the end of the day before
sitting down to a hearty meal | work would be simple, vigorous and life-enhancing|
well, it didn’t quite work out like that” – Bernardine Evaristo, Chapter1:
Dominique, Page 78
Is This An Overview?
People and society change.
These are stories of diverse characters reacting to the changes of their
life. Stories that can be read
independently, but are tied together as some characters interact with each
other. The same events are perceived by
a different character, who has their own interpretation of what happened. From the perspective of friends, or
family. These stories are about people
who were or are in some ways repressed by society, but gained power.
Some were excluded from opportunities and were active in
fighting for inclusion. Had become
included and established. Some had
relied on their family for support, a family who fought for the opportunities
to give to their successors. The
successors had become success stories but were distant and seemingly lost their
cultural heritage.
There are many ways to be an activist, but activists have
problems of their own. Being an
inclusive activist means having to negotiate with diverse wants. Wants that are difficult to reconcile. Being an activist and appreciating activist
partners, does not mean that the activists work well together. Like any organization, they have to find ways
to work together.
Caveats?
The writing style is different, having no clear end to a
sentence. This can sometimes be poetic,
but the quality is mixed. The stories
can be engaging, or a reader can get lost in what had happened.
