Scan barcode
A review by litdreamer
In the Castle of My Skin by George Lamming
3.0
In the Castle of My Skin is a difficult book to review. The style and substance of the novel reveals great talent, but some passages drag, particularly in the first 100 pages of this roughly 300 page work.
The book is a fictionalized account of the author's childhood in Barbados, at a time when the island was transitioning from British colonial rule to independence. Written when the author was 23 and living in England, it shows remarkable control in its narrative structure, and yet in its pacing, it does not always satisfy. Part of this has to do with the variety of narrative devices the author uses: not just first person, but third person omniscient and the villagers' third person perspectives, done to flesh out the historical and cultural backdrop that informs this autobiographical novel. When done well, the plot continues to move forward through these shifting perspectives; when too lengthy, the passages stop the plot like a dam stops water.
For example, there is a conversation in the book between several boys about whether to attack the head teacher after he's given one of the boys a particularly violent thrashing. It goes on for six pages:
First Boy: I never ever see him beat anybody like that. Never ever.
Second Boy: Nor me as far as my memory can remember has I seen him take off his jacket in that sort of fashion to fix up a fellow. I didn't do it but I nearly did dirty myself, when I see him bring that belt down on yuh bambam. (44)
And five pages later:
First Boy: We going do it. It ain't going to cost us nothing, nothing.
Second Boy: Stones is free. They don't cost you nothing. Not a penny.
Fourth Boy: Not a cent. Not a cent to split his skull in two. In two.
'I don't know,' the victim said. 'I don't know. Maybe 'tis a penny an' a cent that cost me what I get. Maybe 'tis. I don't know.' (49)
When Lamming switches to conventional storytelling, such as when Trumper is telling a story to Boy Blue and the first person narrator on the beach, the book becomes more interesting:
''Twus like this,' Trumper said. 'You know Jon who can pitch marbles so clean? He put down four marbles here, he stay there a mile away an' before you say Jack Robinson he scatter them all. Well, 'twus John. For a long time he wus living with Susie who live down the train line, an' Susie had two children for him, Po King an' Puss in Boots, Number one. It seem Jon join the Free for All Brethren an' get save; he says he turn to the Lord an' so on. Brother Bannister take him in an' try to make a hand of him. He wus comin' on good, good, good, an' it seem he start to make much of Brother Bannister daughter, Jen. He was muching up Jen plenty, but nobody say anything, cause they consider in the church that all who break bread is of the same family.' (122)
Also interesting is when important events occur, such as the flood that begins the novel, the strike, the riots, the selling of the land, and the first person narrator's reunion with Trumper after Trumper comes back from America.
The version I read includes an introduction by George Lamming (written in 1983) and a foreword by Sandra Pouchet Paquet. Read the introduction before reading the book, but save the foreword for after, since Paquet refers to specific passages and page numbers. It gives some insight into the structure of the book, but would have given greater benefit had it been written as a book critique, rather than as an academic paper.
The book is a fictionalized account of the author's childhood in Barbados, at a time when the island was transitioning from British colonial rule to independence. Written when the author was 23 and living in England, it shows remarkable control in its narrative structure, and yet in its pacing, it does not always satisfy. Part of this has to do with the variety of narrative devices the author uses: not just first person, but third person omniscient and the villagers' third person perspectives, done to flesh out the historical and cultural backdrop that informs this autobiographical novel. When done well, the plot continues to move forward through these shifting perspectives; when too lengthy, the passages stop the plot like a dam stops water.
For example, there is a conversation in the book between several boys about whether to attack the head teacher after he's given one of the boys a particularly violent thrashing. It goes on for six pages:
First Boy: I never ever see him beat anybody like that. Never ever.
Second Boy: Nor me as far as my memory can remember has I seen him take off his jacket in that sort of fashion to fix up a fellow. I didn't do it but I nearly did dirty myself, when I see him bring that belt down on yuh bambam. (44)
And five pages later:
First Boy: We going do it. It ain't going to cost us nothing, nothing.
Second Boy: Stones is free. They don't cost you nothing. Not a penny.
Fourth Boy: Not a cent. Not a cent to split his skull in two. In two.
'I don't know,' the victim said. 'I don't know. Maybe 'tis a penny an' a cent that cost me what I get. Maybe 'tis. I don't know.' (49)
When Lamming switches to conventional storytelling, such as when Trumper is telling a story to Boy Blue and the first person narrator on the beach, the book becomes more interesting:
''Twus like this,' Trumper said. 'You know Jon who can pitch marbles so clean? He put down four marbles here, he stay there a mile away an' before you say Jack Robinson he scatter them all. Well, 'twus John. For a long time he wus living with Susie who live down the train line, an' Susie had two children for him, Po King an' Puss in Boots, Number one. It seem Jon join the Free for All Brethren an' get save; he says he turn to the Lord an' so on. Brother Bannister take him in an' try to make a hand of him. He wus comin' on good, good, good, an' it seem he start to make much of Brother Bannister daughter, Jen. He was muching up Jen plenty, but nobody say anything, cause they consider in the church that all who break bread is of the same family.' (122)
Also interesting is when important events occur, such as the flood that begins the novel, the strike, the riots, the selling of the land, and the first person narrator's reunion with Trumper after Trumper comes back from America.
The version I read includes an introduction by George Lamming (written in 1983) and a foreword by Sandra Pouchet Paquet. Read the introduction before reading the book, but save the foreword for after, since Paquet refers to specific passages and page numbers. It gives some insight into the structure of the book, but would have given greater benefit had it been written as a book critique, rather than as an academic paper.