Connection Mother and Daughter; Mother and Son; Father and Son
Synopsis
This novel’s length is an indication of the depth with which intergenerational trauma is explored in this, the latest Connected Fiction novel by IC Blackman. The novel’s setting is Mount Tamana which is situated in the Central Range of Trinidad, and is no coincidence. The story revolves around three generations of women living on the summit of Mount Tamana. They take in a lodger for some much needed funds so they can finally complete repairs on their home which had been struck by Hurricane Flora. Their lodger, an erudite, seemingly self-assured PhD botanist from the North finds himself unwittingly exhuming their buried fears, festering insecurities, and stifled desires. In the end, they all find beauty in the unexpected.
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Let it end right here in the bittersweet, godforsaken citrus. Dead on dead. Dem co’beaux go clean up wha’ leave.
A boy’s dream to reach the moon. Then, the reality that the dream, bolstered by the help of an old friend, and one not-so-old, is realised where he firmly stands, earthed…
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Damn that rocket, Ritchie! Is a pipe dream! I don’t want you going to that junkyard again. You hear me?
This collection of short stories will be a steadfast walk through space and time. Several characters reappear in different incarnations through space and time also . Each will tell a story from the very beginning; the ending, a final overcoming. You will walk a rough hewn journey to redemption. Like the characters in Women in Black, you will arrive with blisters on your feet but with feeling, knowing hearts of gold. Stay with them all till the last page. For we mourn; then we rise.
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Food scarce, money scarce, an’ dat watch ain’t rightly yuh own. Is some man watch he los’. An’ if we goin’ to use it, it ain’t go be fo’ tellin’ when an’ when not de doubles man go be in town.
Written at its inception as a novella and play, this social satire follows three performing artists who originate from diverse backgrounds in early post-colonial Trinidad. They fortuitously meet on their way to a talent show in the island’s South. Each performer has their heart set on stardom. Who will emerge winner? Can privilege trump talent? Are they all chasing their dreams, or just the sun?
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This pan is a burden of genius, fella, real genius express in a hostile environment. Is like a golden noose ’round meh neck.
Connection Father and Son; Mother and Son; Brothers
Synopsis
A unique novel, burlesque in nature which encompasses social satire and dark comedy. It’s where afropunk meets ancient mythology; where the purely sublime meets the deathly cynical. No social stereotype is held sacrosanct. You will laugh and you will certainly gawp at the telling of a tale of two almost-twins and a burgeoning shoe empire that rose meteorically and fell just as precipitously in the small town of Billingsgate.
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Am I this? Am I this lowly victim who seeks solace in victimhood? Am I this, this twisted shadow of a man, a savage concoction of my own making?
