7. 50 PoC Book Review

[brigdh]

7. Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy

This very short novel (though apparently heavily based on Kincaid's real life) follows Lucy, a young woman who moves from the Caribbean to New York City to become a nanny for a wealthy white family. There's little plot, and instead the book reads like a series of vignettes about Lucy's life, interspersed with memories of her childhood. The mother Lucy works for treats her more like a friend than an employee, leading to difficulties; Lucy adjusts to life in a new country; Lucy makes friends and has relationships. Despite relatively little happening, this is a powerful book. I found Lucy to be an insightful, cynical character, and really enjoyed her voice.

I actually read this book back in January and just have been terribly lazy about getting around to posting this review, but one scene in particular has stuck with me all this time: in New York, one day Lucy sees daffodils for the first time. However, as a child, Lucy memorized a poem about daffodils to recite at a school assembly, despite never having seen the flowers and their not growing in her country. This metaphor for the insidious results of colonialism and the ways it affects people really hit home.


(Crossposted to 50books_poc)

Comments

Where The Hell is Gitche Gumee??

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that poem by Wordsworth is not my idea of a starter poem for anyone who didn't grow up in the English countryside either. What a wonderful illustration of how cultural imperialism works. Or doesn't work.

Re: Where The Hell is Gitche Gumee??

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a fantastic metaphor!