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motifenjoyer's review
reflective
4.0
"They write about Bolo as if he was a beast loose in the village and the sergeant is the hero who take his life in his hands and go and save the girls from slaughter. ‘Enemy of the People’ they call Bolo. And I can’t blame them for there is their office in Port of Spain they know nothing about us or Bolo. What they know? If it wasn’t for that killing they woulda never know there is a place in Trinidad call Bonasse."
greatlibraryofalexandra's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a really interesting look at colonial struggle in Trinidad. It reminded me a lot of Things Fall Apart, a book I love, and I liked the perspective it showed. The style was lyrical, but I found it hard to follow, and thus I sometimes got bored. The messaging and introspection is heavy and poignant.
books_and_therapy's review
5.0
A masterful piece of fiction. The literary genius of Earl Lovelace shines forth in this brilliant microscopic look at oppression/freedom of a people. With lilting prose and great oversight of community and cultural influences, Lovelace takes readers through the everyday, singular, lives of a community and people struggling to find themselves again and again. A must read!
lilyrich's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emcatbee's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
your_true_shelf's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
_saphyr_'s review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
One the first books that I could remember that I was able to relate so heavily to. Not only in culture to some aspects but mainly through dialect! I found it quite reassuring and definitely invited me into an admirable relationship with this book.
bahareads's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
"Lord, you make your people see hard things, you make us to drink the wine of astonishment."
The Wine of Astonishment was something else, I see why it is a 'Caribbean classic'. Earl Lovelace managed to a simple story with a simple narrative and turn it into something beautiful. The examination of a society struggling to rid itself of colonial (e.i. white) ideals. I loved the historical narrative of the Baptist church in the country, trying hard to survive. I wonder how the explosion of the Pentecostal Movement in America (1906) affected Spiritual Baptish Church in Trinidad and Tobago. The explanations of the feeling of the spirit and the church experience seem very similar to that of the Pentecostal movement. (The Azua Street Revival was started by an African American).
I enjoyed Eva's narration immensely. She was a very perceptive character whose insights added to all of the characters around her. She was able to see and perceive them in a way that allowed the reader into the mind of those characters. Bolo, Bee, and Ivan Morton played their roles well. They were all examples of different ways of adapting and dealing with a country in evolution. Seeing how the characters clung to the old way of doing things or embraced colonial (e.i. white) ideals was an interesting one. The unwavering belief that things would eventually get better and God would make a way really really touched me deeply.
Lovelace's writing is simple and yet so lyrical. I love that The Wine of Astonishment is not written in standard English. It allows Eva's narrative personality to stand out.
"We have this church in the village. We have this church. The walls make out of mud, the roof covered with carrat leaves: a simple hut with no steeple or cross or acolytes or white priests or latin ceremonies. But is our own. Black people own it. Government ain't spent one cent helping us to build it or to put bench in it or anything; the bell that we ring when we call to the Spirit is our money that pay for it. So we have this church."
The Wine of Astonishment was something else, I see why it is a 'Caribbean classic'. Earl Lovelace managed to a simple story with a simple narrative and turn it into something beautiful. The examination of a society struggling to rid itself of colonial (e.i. white) ideals. I loved the historical narrative of the Baptist church in the country, trying hard to survive. I wonder how the explosion of the Pentecostal Movement in America (1906) affected Spiritual Baptish Church in Trinidad and Tobago. The explanations of the feeling of the spirit and the church experience seem very similar to that of the Pentecostal movement. (The Azua Street Revival was started by an African American).
I enjoyed Eva's narration immensely. She was a very perceptive character whose insights added to all of the characters around her. She was able to see and perceive them in a way that allowed the reader into the mind of those characters. Bolo, Bee, and Ivan Morton played their roles well. They were all examples of different ways of adapting and dealing with a country in evolution. Seeing how the characters clung to the old way of doing things or embraced colonial (e.i. white) ideals was an interesting one. The unwavering belief that things would eventually get better and God would make a way really really touched me deeply.
Lovelace's writing is simple and yet so lyrical. I love that The Wine of Astonishment is not written in standard English. It allows Eva's narrative personality to stand out.
"We have this church in the village. We have this church. The walls make out of mud, the roof covered with carrat leaves: a simple hut with no steeple or cross or acolytes or white priests or latin ceremonies. But is our own. Black people own it. Government ain't spent one cent helping us to build it or to put bench in it or anything; the bell that we ring when we call to the Spirit is our money that pay for it. So we have this church."