The Haunted Tropics: Caribbean Ghost Stories, edited by Martin Munro, is a collection of short stories written by contemporary writers of the Caribbean, as well as others from Canada and the Unites States. The book of fifteen tales explores the main supernatural theme with the evocation of ghosts, dead, undead or dying, that haunt the experiences of the characters in each story. In his introduction Munro wrote "every island of the Caribbean is the site of a deep haunting" (vii). The anthology proves this point as throughout the book there is always the presence of a supernatural element. On the same hand, the collection brought together tales of diverse origins, i.e. from the different Caribbean islands, incorporating together characters who
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Munro made note that modern migrations from the islands involved new journeys for Caribbean people. Many Caribbean nationals are of the view that Canada, United States and European countries are better than their homeland, possibly as a result of the psychological impacts of colonialism. Notwithstanding, it is generally believed that there are better opportunities in these developed countries because of their much stronger economies. The tales of “Travelling” by Patricia Powell, “The Voyage of the Centipede” and “The Wedding Photograph” by Lawrence Scott highlighted this point, and thus depicted modern migration. In “Travelling” the protagonist was Jamaican and after growing up, moved to the US “in San Francisco in an apartment with a painter named Lucas” (29). Jessie, and many of her siblings, were migrants from Guadeloupe in “The Voyage of the Centipede”. Whilst Jessie and some of her siblings were in France, she also had siblings who lived in Canada and Belgium (51). After the death of their youngest sister Annette, Jessie was encouraged to leave Guadeloupe and return to France where she would “enjoy the savoury white bread” compared to the symbolic “stale bread”. Martin also said that in many cases, the islands become a place of troubled memories, of events that continue to leave with the exile, making the displaced person an individual haunted by …show more content…
Conversely, “Blue Crabs” by Alake Pilgrim was not easily understood, and stories such as “Anansi” by Fred D’Aguiar, “Gros Islet” by Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, “Flavius and Wasa” by Earl Lovelace, and “The Country of Green Mansions” by Keith Jardim did not demonstrate clear Caribbean themes. Nonetheless, I believe all the stories, with the exception of “Blue Crabs”, “Flavius and Wasa” and “The Twilight of Daisy Powell”, fit the ghost story genre perfectly. In many instances, actual ghosts were the features of the stories, whilst in others it was the presence of superstitious characters that originate from the West Indian or Afro-Caribbean culture: Anansi, an eight-legged half man, half spider, which truly originated from West African culture, the tatagua in “Awakening” and Mama D’lo in “The Country of Green Mansions”. All things considered, I would recommend this book to those who are interested in the ghost genre, but also seek an interesting Caribbean touch, or those who simply have interest in Caribbean culture and quiet
Munro made note that modern migrations from the islands involved new journeys for Caribbean people. Many Caribbean nationals are of the view that Canada, United States and European countries are better than their homeland, possibly as a result of the psychological impacts of colonialism. Notwithstanding, it is generally believed that there are better opportunities in these developed countries because of their much stronger economies. The tales of “Travelling” by Patricia Powell, “The Voyage of the Centipede” and “The Wedding Photograph” by Lawrence Scott highlighted this point, and thus depicted modern migration. In “Travelling” the protagonist was Jamaican and after growing up, moved to the US “in San Francisco in an apartment with a painter named Lucas” (29). Jessie, and many of her siblings, were migrants from Guadeloupe in “The Voyage of the Centipede”. Whilst Jessie and some of her siblings were in France, she also had siblings who lived in Canada and Belgium (51). After the death of their youngest sister Annette, Jessie was encouraged to leave Guadeloupe and return to France where she would “enjoy the savoury white bread” compared to the symbolic “stale bread”. Martin also said that in many cases, the islands become a place of troubled memories, of events that continue to leave with the exile, making the displaced person an individual haunted by …show more content…
Conversely, “Blue Crabs” by Alake Pilgrim was not easily understood, and stories such as “Anansi” by Fred D’Aguiar, “Gros Islet” by Elizabeth Walcott-Hackshaw, “Flavius and Wasa” by Earl Lovelace, and “The Country of Green Mansions” by Keith Jardim did not demonstrate clear Caribbean themes. Nonetheless, I believe all the stories, with the exception of “Blue Crabs”, “Flavius and Wasa” and “The Twilight of Daisy Powell”, fit the ghost story genre perfectly. In many instances, actual ghosts were the features of the stories, whilst in others it was the presence of superstitious characters that originate from the West Indian or Afro-Caribbean culture: Anansi, an eight-legged half man, half spider, which truly originated from West African culture, the tatagua in “Awakening” and Mama D’lo in “The Country of Green Mansions”. All things considered, I would recommend this book to those who are interested in the ghost genre, but also seek an interesting Caribbean touch, or those who simply have interest in Caribbean culture and quiet