Howling Frog Books

A Tempest, by Aimé Césaire  Aimé Césaire, born 1913 in Martinique (which is still officially French), became a world-renowned dramatist and poet; he, along with his friend the poet Damas, established the idea of "Negritude," that black people did not need to assimilate into European culture, but had valuable cultures of their own to contribute to the world.  Leopold Senghor was the leader of this movement; I read some of his poetry in 2014 .  This was an anti-colonialism black pride movement, largely in the areas that had been colonized by France, in the 1930s - 1950s.  A Tempest was published in 1969. Césaire's play is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Tempest which casts Ariel as mulatto, and Caliban as black, both enslaved by Prospero, who has arrived on their island and taken illegitimate possession of it.  Ariel works hard for Prospero, always hoping for his long-promised freedom and trying to appeal to Prospero's conscience, while Caliban has given up wa...

Annie John, by Jamaica Kincaid Happy new year!  All of a sudden I have seven books sitting here to write about and how did that happen?  Not sure.  I might wind up doing another riffle post, who knows.  Annie tells the story of her life -- her childhood -- in Antigua, first as a much-beloved little girl.  She is an only child of her young mother and much older father (who has ex-girlfriends sprinkled all over the place).  She and her mother are always together and Annie basks in her mother's love.  As she grows older, though, the relationship becomes fraught and difficult.  Annie never comes to understand why her mother has become so cold and prickly.  She is used to being special, both at home and at school, and then she isn't any more.  Annie becomes desperate to leave the island and plans never to return, but her relationship with her mother still takes up a large space in her life. ...I could not be sure whether for the rest o...