Shabine and Other Stories

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In this impressive first collection of short stories, HazelSimmons-McDonald presents a deft exploration of class, of how values are shapedby religion, and of the tensions that undergird family life. She makes a placefor voices hitherto not heard and creates characters who closely guard thesecrets of their hearts but who through her narrative dexterity come toexperience moments of truth and clarity of memory. Simmons-McDonald'senergetic prose not only captures the polylinguistic character of St Luciansociety but it also creates a space for the exploration of an Eastern Caribbeanbrand of magical realism. With polished assurance, sheweaves folk beliefs into the fabric of her stories, creating memorable tales markedby notes of sadness yet balanced by tenderness and joy. Simmons-McDonaldtakes the reader on a journey where the familiar and the unfamiliar sit side byside, where the spirit world is always present, and where at all times we arereminded of the universal reach of love and hope. "I cannot think of a single work with such a wide andcomplex appeal. While many West Indian writers . . . explore the same worlds asHazel Simmons-McDonald, none of them bring out the issues of childhood andfamily intertwined with religious, environmental, and social conditions withsuch surgical grace. The calmness of the style leads the reader into worlds ofjoy, or pain and horror made visible and bearable by the calculated moderation, exactitude, and poignancy of the diction."--JeanD'Costa, Leavenworth Professor of English Emerita, Hamilton College