You know the drill by now. Map of The Bahamas:
And book description:
This coming-of-age novel, by the Bahamanian writer, traces the lives of Tree Bodie and his three brothers as they grow up in the streets of Pompey Village, an area of extreme poverty hidden from the tourists who populate the luxury hotels. Creole conversation lends a distinct flavour.
I'd hoped to have this finished before I went on my trip to LA but didn't quite make it. Oh wellsies.
This was a pretty good read once I got the hang of it. It took a little bit because it went back and forth between "present" time and the main character's childhood. Also that Creole conversation was really freaking hard to understand. Luckily there's a glossary in the back for some of the really local words.
It was interesting because the author set this book during political upheaval. I don't know if any of that is based in fact but, if it wasn't, he's really good at bullshitting. It seemed very much like it could have been real; you had politicians who were corrupt and leeching off the citizens, and the people who were sick of their tax money being used for politician's personal gains. There was also discord between Tree and his mom; Mama supported the existing party and Tree (though he got blackmailed into working for them) did not. Oops, that may have needed a spoiler alert.
So I guess my only hangup with this book was having a hard time with the Creole. I would say if you're better than I am at interpreting it you should definitely read this.
So now I'm officially into the B countries, which I'm glad about, and I'll really try to read them faster. In other news, which I'm positive you've noticed, I don't know how to write book reviews. I'm bad at them and I feel bad. But read them anyway. K byeee!
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