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4.0
Zee Edgell was Belize's leading literary voice (might even be the only one given the general paucity of books in the country - more on this below). In Time and the River , Edgell explores the unique history of Belize in the early 1800's, through the angle of slavery.
On my first day in Belize, I asked around for recommendations on books by local authors. To my great surprise, I was told by several folks that "Nobody reads literature here", and my question was generally greeted with amusement. Corroborating this, google informed me that the whole country has, maybe 2 book stores, and they seemed to be filled with books from authors elsewhere that I can find anywhere. On my 2nd day, I succeeded in getting a response to the question, "Is there a book about Belize that everyone here reads, may be in high school?". This is how I discovered Zee Edgell's Beka Lamb . But I couldn't find Beka Lamb in the stationery stores in the area I was in (another curious thing - stationery stores double up to sell the few books Belizeans seem to read) but they did carry Edgell's Time and the River . This is how I came about to gleefully dig my teeth into this book during my time in the country!
Slavery in Belize looked very different from slavery in the US - the slaves were allowed to buy their own freedom ("manumission"), they had days off, they could even make money on the side and pursue hobbies. (Of course, this doesn't mean life was good for them - they were slaves after all, and some of them suffered badly at the hands of their owners.) Belize's history is also quite unique - how this came to be the only English-speaking country in Central America is a story in itself, and one that involves slaves and English settlers fighting the Spanish. The geography of Belize also played a great part in shaping this history - the unforgiving rainforests and coastal swamps, the gigantic mahogany trees that attracted the loggers, the Belize river that cuts through the country, the coral reefs off the coast that protected the country from attacks by the sea..
As far as historical fiction books go, this one does a great job of capsuling early 19th century Belize and all aspects of how life was back then. You also clearly see why the relationship between slaves and settlers was what it was, and how it got shaped by the country's geography. The story is narrated from the POV of 3 slaves (but one of them - Leah - is the central character, and 80% of the story is in her voice). I especially enjoyed reading the secondary character Will's voice - his. It was also great just imagining what the land was like back then - how the places over run with concrete and roads now were raw, unexplored jungle all those years ago... I felt transported back into that era. The book is so beautifully titled as well - the Belize river has a hidden presence in the book, and the life of the slaves unfolds along its banks.
The writing is quite clunky and is especially so in the beginning - I found the reading unenjoyable for the first third of the book. I thought it got better/smoother as the book progressed, and I found myself going back for more. So if you're put off by the writing style early on in the book, I'd suggest some patience.
Reading tips : There is a helpful glossary at the end - so if you encounter terms you don't understand over the course of reading (nouns describing the flora and fauna of the region, names of food items etc.), flip to the glossary. Also, I think I would have found the story difficult to really absorb without some background on the history and geography of Belize (which I garnered through other reading & traveling) - suggest referring to other sources for some background reading on the history of Belize to understand what's going on between the English & the Spanish, why mahogany is mentioned so often etc.
On my first day in Belize, I asked around for recommendations on books by local authors. To my great surprise, I was told by several folks that "Nobody reads literature here", and my question was generally greeted with amusement. Corroborating this, google informed me that the whole country has, maybe 2 book stores, and they seemed to be filled with books from authors elsewhere that I can find anywhere. On my 2nd day, I succeeded in getting a response to the question, "Is there a book about Belize that everyone here reads, may be in high school?". This is how I discovered Zee Edgell's Beka Lamb . But I couldn't find Beka Lamb in the stationery stores in the area I was in (another curious thing - stationery stores double up to sell the few books Belizeans seem to read) but they did carry Edgell's Time and the River . This is how I came about to gleefully dig my teeth into this book during my time in the country!
Slavery in Belize looked very different from slavery in the US - the slaves were allowed to buy their own freedom ("manumission"), they had days off, they could even make money on the side and pursue hobbies. (Of course, this doesn't mean life was good for them - they were slaves after all, and some of them suffered badly at the hands of their owners.) Belize's history is also quite unique - how this came to be the only English-speaking country in Central America is a story in itself, and one that involves slaves and English settlers fighting the Spanish. The geography of Belize also played a great part in shaping this history - the unforgiving rainforests and coastal swamps, the gigantic mahogany trees that attracted the loggers, the Belize river that cuts through the country, the coral reefs off the coast that protected the country from attacks by the sea..
As far as historical fiction books go, this one does a great job of capsuling early 19th century Belize and all aspects of how life was back then. You also clearly see why the relationship between slaves and settlers was what it was, and how it got shaped by the country's geography. The story is narrated from the POV of 3 slaves (but one of them - Leah - is the central character, and 80% of the story is in her voice). I especially enjoyed reading the secondary character Will's voice - his
Spoiler
unfulfilled life left a haunting impression. All he always wanted was to live in a small house by the river, surrounded by fruit trees and small plants. But all he had was a life of relentless work for his masters, a fading image of his long-lost mother, unrequited love, and a so-called friend who heartlessly deprived him of the smallest pleasure she could actually grant him.The writing is quite clunky and is especially so in the beginning - I found the reading unenjoyable for the first third of the book. I thought it got better/smoother as the book progressed, and I found myself going back for more. So if you're put off by the writing style early on in the book, I'd suggest some patience.
Reading tips : There is a helpful glossary at the end - so if you encounter terms you don't understand over the course of reading (nouns describing the flora and fauna of the region, names of food items etc.), flip to the glossary. Also, I think I would have found the story difficult to really absorb without some background on the history and geography of Belize (which I garnered through other reading & traveling) - suggest referring to other sources for some background reading on the history of Belize to understand what's going on between the English & the Spanish, why mahogany is mentioned so often etc.
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