From Library Journal
Kincaid here examines the geography and history of Antigua, where she was raised. We first see the island through the eyes of the typical North American tourist, who aims to exchange his or her own "everydayness" for that of someone without the same privilege. But rather than interpret Antiguan experience for outsiders, Kincaid lays bare the limits of her own understanding. She asks us to grasp the crime of empire in a new way, stressing that it can be understood only from a post-colonial point of view: surveying 20 years of a corrupt "free" government, she finds the inheritance of colonialism to be a commercial and governmental enterprise that serves individual interests. Antiguans, she effectively demonstrates, are ordinary people saddled with an unthinkable but unbreachable past. Mollie Brodsky, Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith
Born and raised in Antigua, Jamaica Kincaid is angry and frustrated with the white people who dominated the land and native people of her birthplace. In this thought-provoking essay, she appeals to the reader/tourist to look beyond the beautiful blues of the ocean and into the local people's lives, to question why Antigua does not have a decent library or hospital or sewer or school system. She believes the corruption of the government is a direct result of the power of money and examples set by the British occupation. She asks: "Have you ever wondered why it is that all we seemed to have learned from you is how to corrupt our society and how to be tyrants?...You came. You took things that were not yours, and you did not even, for appearance's sake, ask first." When you take the time to look into this small, beautiful place you eventually have to look inside yourself, to think about western colonialization and standards and their impact on non-western people. And as you look, Jamaica Kincaid invites you to see our common humanity and the benefits such broadening of vision can bring. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.
--Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
