Black Leopard Red Wolf
by Marlon James
“Disappointing Drivel – DNF!”
Having seen this book hyped up everywhere, I was really looking forward to reading it. Marlon James being likened to J.R.R. Tolkien and George R. R. Martin, made me look forward to what I felt was sure to be exquisite storytelling from a Caribbean perspective.
The comparisons, quite frankly, are an outrageous affront, and I can only surmise that those who have made them, have read neither J.R.R. Tolkien nor George R. R. Martin. Marlon James may feel that he wrote “an African Game of Thrones” with his “Black Leopard Red Wolf”, but I have never DNF’ed a book more quickly. By page three I was desperately hoping for an improvement in his writing. I forced myself to finish the first chapter and see if there was an improvement in the second one before making a decision. The writing is of poor quality and very disjointed, the storyline, quite frankly, unnecessarily disgusting.
This is by far, the worst book I have ever attempted to read. It’s absolute drivel. It’s giving the scribbles of a drug addled, deeply disturbed individual. I do not understand the hype. I do not understand how this was published. I believe the author needs professional help, urgently. The book itself seems like one big trigger warning.
A Small Place
by Jamaica Kincaid
“Honest & Insightful”
Written in 1988, this book (which is actually an essay) is both a social and political criticism and a portrait of postcolonial Antigua, with autobiographical elements thrown in. Having grown up in Antigua myself, I was curious to dive into this piece. It was an odd sensation, because this book was written almost 40 years ago, but it somehow feels like longer. At the same time though, this was only about 10 years before I moved there myself, and with Antigua being so small, even though Jamaica Kincaid names no names, if you have lived there for any amount of time, you know who she is talking about. That gave this book a feeling of your favourite Auntie spilling the tea. It felt like an intimate letter one would receive from a friend.
It was interesting to see what has changed since this essay was written. The site of the old library that is now a car park, and the new library having opened only in late 2014, comes to mind. Jamaica Kincaid herself has added a preface to this book, saying that she would not now write as critically as she did then, having seen that things like corruption are an issue everywhere, but I personally think that her anger at the time was very justified. I also think that her portrayal of ignorant tourism is accurate and we should all make an effort to walk through the world with open eyes.
Stories & Salt 