The Same Earth
Author(s): Kei Miller
After the hurricane of 1974, Jamaica is devastated. Imelda Richardson is sent to England, without a place to stay or a plan of what to do. Luckily sheis taken in by Purletta Johnson, a member of the ex-pat bourgeoisie who has decided to become more Jamaican than any Jamaican: sucking her teeth, sporting a gold tooth, and growing ganja on her balcony. But when her mother dies Imelda returns to Jamaica. When Tessa Walcott's panties are stolen, she and Imelda set up a Neighbourhood Watch. But they haven't counted on Pastor Braithwaite who denounces them in Church. The church-goers turn on Imelda, and when the river suddenly floods her home it is seen as a punishment from God. A Pentecostal fervour sweeps through the village of Watersgate, fuelled by Evangelist Millie. In her last great crusade, Miss Millie organises 'fire to burn their sins away', equipping the villagers with kerosene as they set about burning everything. Now they are marching on the gay man's house and only Imelda can save him.
General Information
- :
- : Orion Publishing Co
- : Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
- : 0.245
- : 01 February 2009
- : United Kingdom
- : 01 June 2011
- : books
Other Specifications
- : Kei Miller
- : Paperback
- : 256
More About The Product
A fantastic debut from a talented new writer Perfect for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Andrea Levy Kei Miller's collection THE FEAR OF STONES was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer's prize for Best First Book He has received excellent reviews: 'Charming vignettes of Caribbean village life are woven together into a lazily sinuous narrative' Mail on Sunday 'A humorous, bittersweet fiction, combines the fantastical realism of Marquez with the domestic comedy of Andrea Levy... Miller is a name to watch' Independent 'A lovingly drawn miniature of Jamaica's culture from the 1950s onwards... Miller's narrative and emotional range is exceptional' Scotland on Sunday 'A stinging portrait of Jamaican religion and law... THE SAME EARTH is marked out by an interesting, animating intelligence' Sunday Herald
'The hazards of homecoming lie at the heart of poet Kei Miller's charm-filled debut...a breezy good-humour pervades Miller's portrait of island life.' INDEPENDENT
Kei Miller is 28. He divides his time between Jamaica and the UK and is currently teaching the Prose Fiction course at the University of the West Indies. His collection of short stories published by Macmillan Caribbean, THE FEAR OF STONES, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer's prize for Best First Book.
