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hereforthefunofit's review against another edition
3.75
I started this anthology of with two short stories that I really really enjoyed and I was made to believe that this would be the experience throughout the entire book. Unfortunately, that was not the case because, for some reason, all good things have to come to an end. There were some stories that made me straight up uncomfortable, some I just feel like were unfinished and really lacked impact despite good prose and intriguing premises. And there were others, a few but still quite resonant, that I really enjoyed, really loved and will be looking into the authors for more.
I actually only read this book as a part of my reading challenge to read from books across the Caribbean and this was to fulfill my prompt for Antigua and Barbuda because I wasn't finding anything. That's why that review is highlighted.
Breakdown:
The Whale House by Sharon Miller - I love a story where everything is connected and this is a prime example of that being so well executed in a mere few pages. 5
The Science of Salvation by Dwight Thompson - There is nice story-telling, but everything didn't really come together for me at the end. I was left wondering why certain things were said and left in, and that may be my own failure to properly understand the story, but that does affect how I view it, so yeah. Compelling nonetheless. 4.25
Cheque Mate by Kevin Baldeosingh - Thought it was corny feminism (i am a feminist) and didn't really have a point. 2.5
This Thing We Call Love by Ivory Kelly - Lovely community building, but more a description of a Belizean community than a short story. 3
A Good Friday by Barbara Jenkins - Has a deeper meaning that is going over my head, but feels unfinished, I WANT MORE, 3.75
All the Secret Things No One Ever Knows by Sharon Leach - Gross but has a start, middle and actual end. 4
Amelia at Devil's Bridge by Joanne C. Hillhouse - One of the first in a while to immediately grab my attention but i wish there was more room for speculation. It gives so little which is effective in depicting the mysterious, ghostly tone but leaves me with nothing for further thinking. 4.5
Waywardness by Ezekiel Alan - made me so uncomfortable that i don't want to rate it
I actually only read this book as a part of my reading challenge to read from books across the Caribbean and this was to fulfill my prompt for Antigua and Barbuda because I wasn't finding anything. That's why that review is highlighted.
Breakdown:
The Whale House by Sharon Miller - I love a story where everything is connected and this is a prime example of that being so well executed in a mere few pages. 5
The Science of Salvation by Dwight Thompson - There is nice story-telling, but everything didn't really come together for me at the end. I was left wondering why certain things were said and left in, and that may be my own failure to properly understand the story, but that does affect how I view it, so yeah. Compelling nonetheless. 4.25
Cheque Mate by Kevin Baldeosingh - Thought it was corny feminism (i am a feminist) and didn't really have a point. 2.5
This Thing We Call Love by Ivory Kelly - Lovely community building, but more a description of a Belizean community than a short story. 3
A Good Friday by Barbara Jenkins - Has a deeper meaning that is going over my head, but feels unfinished, I WANT MORE, 3.75
All the Secret Things No One Ever Knows by Sharon Leach - Gross but has a start, middle and actual end. 4
Amelia at Devil's Bridge by Joanne C. Hillhouse - One of the first in a while to immediately grab my attention but i wish there was more room for speculation. It gives so little which is effective in depicting the mysterious, ghostly tone but leaves me with nothing for further thinking. 4.5
Waywardness by Ezekiel Alan - made me so uncomfortable that i don't want to rate it
And the Virgin's Name Was Leah by Heather Barker - Once again, very interesting and the prose is lovely but I'm left wondering "What next?". 3.5
Mango Summer by Janice Lynn Mather - It's interesting because I took so long to be able to read this one. I don't know what was happening but I had to keep restarting the reading process that I just eventually skipped it over and came back to it in the end. But it was actually lovely. All the lines blended together so well; all the different aspects of the story. And it was told in in such a juxtaposed way. We have a sad story contrasted with something sweet, lovely and delight for all and the writing make sure that you are able to see the effects of that juxtaposition. 5. Absolutely devastating.
Berry by Kimmisha Thomas - I am always going to eat up a lesbian love story however I was less confused about the age gap between these two so I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I would have loved to. 3.25
The Monkey Trap by Kevin Jared Hosein - Another sad one unfortunately. This one had the intended impact on me; however, I feel like things could have tied into each other better especially that last part I feel like that was an amazing opportunity to do some real symbolism. 4.25
Father, Father by Garfield Ellis - I take this as a parallel to the Christian God or maybe just any god. I liked it, I related to it. 4.
africanbookaddict's review against another edition
4.0
!!! full review https://africanbookaddict.com/2018/04/05/pepperpot-best-new-stories-from-the-caribbean-edited-by-olive-senior/ 4.5 stars!
I really, really enjoyed this anthology. I always love reading anthologies because I get to discover new writers and their short stories give me a taste of their writing styles. I discovered a good number of new Caribbean writers from this anthology, especially as it purposely featured stories by lesser-known Caribbean writers mostly residing on the Islands. I absolutely love that these stories contain local dialect WITHOUT a glossary at the back of the book. If a reader wants to look up a certain word or phrase, they can Google it! It's almost as if the book was written for readers of the Caribbean and not necessarily Western readers - which I'm here for! Not everyday white gaze -_-
FULL review on book blog - https://africanbookaddict.com/2018/04/05/pepperpot-best-new-stories-from-the-caribbean-edited-by-olive-senior/
I really, really enjoyed this anthology. I always love reading anthologies because I get to discover new writers and their short stories give me a taste of their writing styles. I discovered a good number of new Caribbean writers from this anthology, especially as it purposely featured stories by lesser-known Caribbean writers mostly residing on the Islands. I absolutely love that these stories contain local dialect WITHOUT a glossary at the back of the book. If a reader wants to look up a certain word or phrase, they can Google it! It's almost as if the book was written for readers of the Caribbean and not necessarily Western readers - which I'm here for! Not everyday white gaze -_-
FULL review on book blog - https://africanbookaddict.com/2018/04/05/pepperpot-best-new-stories-from-the-caribbean-edited-by-olive-senior/
chanteld's review against another edition
4.0
This short story collection was exactly what I have been craving. I needed to read and connect with Caribbean narratives. The vivid images of the islands represented and the music of the varied island dialects was a real delight to read and experience.
My favourite Pepperpot stories were:
“Amelia at Devil’s Bridge” by Joanne C. Hillhouse from Antigua and Barbuda
“Mango Summer” by Janice Lynn Mather from the Bahamas
“Berry” by KImmisha Thomas from Jamaica
My favourite Pepperpot stories were:
“Amelia at Devil’s Bridge” by Joanne C. Hillhouse from Antigua and Barbuda
“Mango Summer” by Janice Lynn Mather from the Bahamas
“Berry” by KImmisha Thomas from Jamaica
zellm's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of these stories felt incomplete or missing context. Some were good but they just lacked impact, which is interesting because the subject matter was often so intense.
kbhenrickson's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
esther_habs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
amalia1985's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
‘’Here in the rocky haunts of the islanders themselves are landscapes where ‘’the rocks are sharper than a coconut vendor’s cutlass, and the waters lash with a vengeance,’’ landscapes of swollen gullies and bush where monkeys can hide, where beauty and violence compete in scorpionfish and stingrays and captured, gutted shark. There are also the landscapes where lash fruit falls to the ground with the ease of summer ripening, where the clash of dominoes in the run shop provides the familiar auditory signal of men at play, and where preachers get the urge to go into the streets and warn of coming tribulations even as gunshots spatter.’’
The Whale House by Sharon Millar (Trinidad & Tobago): A beautiful, sad story about the immense pain of losing a child.
The Science of Salvation by Dwight Thompson (Jamaica): An ex-convict returns and wreaks havoc to a community plagued by gang wars in a haunting, tragic story.
Cheque Mate by Kevin Baldeosingh (Trinidad & Tobago): An affluent woman exacts her revenge on a man who wanted to buy her silence in an almost twisted game of power. Undoubtedly seductive this one…
The Thing We Call Love by Ivory Kelly (Belize): A ten-year-old girl witnesses the love troubles of her community.
A Good Friday by Barbara Jenkins (Trinidad & Tobago): Well, if that isn’t love at first sight…
All the Secret Things No One Ever Knows by Sharon Leach (Jamaica): This story is all kinds of twisted, disturbed and disturbing and haunting. I don’t agree with trigger warnings because we are all intelligent, grown-up readers but this one contains every possible trigger alert you can think of. I loved it.
‘’There’s no such thing as water under the bridge. Forgive and forget is just something pipe-dream losers, helpless victims, hang onto because they’re unable - or unwilling - to do anything else.’’
Amelia at Devil’s Bridge by Joanne C. Hillhouse (Antigua & Barbuda): The spirit of a dead girl screams in desperation in a story that will make you shiver.
Waywardness by Ezekel Alan (Jamaica): The story of a criminal with commentary on sexuality, identity, and violence. This one managed to make me uncomfortable.
And the Virgin’s Name Was Leah by Heather Barker (Barbados): A strange fusion of the Old and New Testament, of the Biblical era and our contemporary times, of Israel and Barbados produce a striking story about mental health, family and hope.
Mango Summer by Janice Lynn Mather (Bahamas): A small community is being plagued by the disappearance of young girls. Seen through the eyes of a girl’s younger sister, this is a haunting, cryptic tale in which the line between reality and myth is heavily blurred.
Berry by Kimmisha Thomas (Jamaica): A tender story of desperate love and the prejudices of a macho community.
The Monkey Trap by Kevin Jared Hosein (Trinidad & Tobago): I am sorry to say that this one was disgusting…
Father, Father by Garfield Ellis (Jamaica): In a bitter story, a boy remembers his father as he’s trying to cope with abuse.
‘’On an island nobody ever really, truly disappears without a trace. No, what we have here are bodies: a woman found in the bushes in All Saints, a tourist slain at Darkwood, a girl washed up at Devil’s Bridge…
They’re few and far between. That’s why they make the news because it always kind of shakes us up that there might be someone among us who could do such a thing.
But there are no places to ide bodies, nowhere where they won’t eventually reveal themselves.’’
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
zoenosis's review against another edition
4.0
Picked this up as was interested in reading more from Caribbean writers, and was so pleasantly surprised at the breadth and depth of this collection! So many different styles of story are represented here, and all so good. Standout favourites were Cheque Mate by Kevin Baldeosingh (so sexy!), the Whale House by Sharon Millar (I cried), The Monkey Trap, Father Father, Amelia at Devils Bridge, All the Secret Things No One Ever Knows... so basically loved the entire collection.
bahareads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Pepperpot was mix of joy and heartbreak. Short stories continue to surprise me with how powerful how they can be. All the stories had different flavors of life in it, I was chilled to bone with some and brought to joyful heights by others. I enjoyed Kevin Baldeosingh's Cheque Mate , Ivory Kelly's This Thing We Call Love , Sharon Leach's All The Secret Things No One Ever Knows , Kimmisha Thomas' Berry and Garfield Ellis' Father, Father the most out of all the stories in the anthology. Some of the stories in Pepperpot had open endings which left the story feeling hollow. I will say all the stories in here didn't thrill me but left me wondering about the quality of the writing and storytelling. I will say overall though I think Pepperpot gave what it needed to give - a diverse anthology telling diffrent stories of the Caribbean.