Review: Fascinating look at early 20th century Jamaica
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 26, 2013
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.This is a fascinating tale about a Jamaican family and the daughter who moves to England in the years before WWII. Olga Browney was born and educated in Kingston, the child of a white mother and black father. She and her siblings navigate Jamaica's racial politics and economic crises. In the 1930s Olga travels to England to train in dance, and her life ends up following a path far different from what she expected.There is much that is interesting in this book. The social and racial hierarchies of both Jamaica and England dictate much about people's lives. Browne's discussion of life in Jamaica is beautiful. I really enjoyed her prose. I was definitely engaged by Olga's story.My only real complaint is that I found the format of the book- a series of letters and diary entries- to be somewhat clumsy. I think it would have been better had it simply been written in a straight narrative style. Otherwise I enjoyed this book.