In this impressive first collection of short stories, Hazel
Simmons-McDonald presents a deft exploration of class, of how values are shaped
by religion, and of the tensions that undergird family life. She makes a place
for voices hitherto not heard and creates characters who closely guard the
secrets of their hearts but who through her narrative dexterity come to
experience moments of truth and clarity of memory.
Simmons-McDonald’s
energetic prose not only captures the polylinguistic character of St Lucian
society but it also creates a space for the exploration of an Eastern Caribbean
brand of magical realism. With polished assurance, she
weaves folk beliefs into the fabric of her stories, creating memorable tales marked
by notes of sadness yet balanced by tenderness and joy. Simmons-McDonald
takes the reader on a journey where the familiar and the unfamiliar sit side by
side, where the spirit world is always present, and where at all times we are
reminded of the universal reach of love and hope.
“I cannot think of a single work with such a wide and
complex appeal. While many West Indian writers . . . explore the same worlds as
Hazel Simmons-McDonald, none of them bring out the issues of childhood and
family intertwined with religious, environmental, and social conditions with
such surgical grace. The calmness of the style leads the reader into worlds of
joy, or pain and horror made visible and bearable by the calculated moderation,
exactitude, and poignancy of the diction.”—Jean
D'Costa, Leavenworth Professor of English Emerita, Hamilton College
