Reading the 20th Century discussion

This is the thread for a buddy read of The Bridge of Beyond by Simone Schwarz-Bart.

This is an intoxicating tale of love and wonder, mothers and daughters, spiritual values and the grim legacy of slavery on the French Antillean island of Guadeloupe. Here long-suffering Telumee tells her life story and tells us about the proud line of Lougandor women she continues to draw strength from. Time flows unevenly during the long hot blue days as the madness of the island swirls around the villages, and Telumee, raised in the shelter of wide skirts, must learn how to navigate the adversities of a peasant community, the ecstasies of love, and domestic realities while arriving at her own precious happiness. In the words of Toussine, the wise, tender grandmother who raises her, “Behind one pain there is another. Sorrow is a wave without end. But the horse mustn’t ride you, you must ride it.”

A masterpiece of Caribbean literature, The Bridge of Beyond relates the triumph of a generous and hopeful spirit, while offering a gorgeously lush, imaginative depiction of the flora, landscape, and customs of Gua­deloupe. Simone Schwarz-Bart’s incantatory prose, interwoven with Creole proverbs and lore, appears here in a remarkable translation by Barbara Bray.

Over to you, Brian and Ben...

I hope other like this even half as much as I do. This is the book I most often give as a gift.

I'm #1 in my library queue

I hope to reread this in December if my TBR allows.

I will be picking this up at the library this week. After a long time "in transit" through the London library system, my turn has finally come.

Hurrah 🙌🏻

I've started this now. Wonderful opening.

Beautifully written. I'm 20% through and I'm going to have to go back and write down some of the choice sayings.

I’m so pleased you feel that way too Ben! Lyrical is an often used adjective in book reviews and if a young person asked me to explain what is meant by lyrical prose I would direct them to this book.

Ben wrote: "I've started this now. Wonderful opening."

I'll start soon too.

I've finished it, but I haven't written my review yet. This is the third Caribbean novel (after Hungry Ghosts and Annie John) I've read this year. All have been near the top of my list of the year's books, with colourful, complex writing, characters and thinking, and this is the best of them.

I was just going to pick up the book for Day #2 in my read. I very much enjoyed Day #1 which consisted of the 36 pages of Part 1.
The writing is more fluid than anticipated yet my reading was slow. But that was a positive since it was due to my often referring back to the Loughandor Family Tree to make sure I had my mind on the right characters and generation. I love doing that as I’m a sucker for family trees and their accompanying family sagas. So far, so good.

I found it a very slow read and had to limit myself to 20-25 pages a day. The imagery and metaphor were so complex and rich that if would be overwhelmed if I read much more.

Oh you two are seriously enticing me to jump in with this!

I don’t think you’d be disappointed, RC.N

I finished the book yesterday. I enjoyed the book, admired the writing and the book's portrayal of a culture previously unknown to me. I was fascinated during the story of Telumee's ancestry but found the story of Telumee herself to be satisfactory rather than fascinating.
With the wonderful writing and fascinating cultural portrait, my only moderate level of enjoyment might be explained by my dissatisfaction with both some of the portrayed local culture and dissatisfaction with Telumee's reactions to her life events. For whatever the reason, the second half story line was not as compelling as I anticipated it would be after reading the story's opening part.
However, I still thought it a valuable reading experience and its writing and depiction of a Caribbean culture make it worthy of classic status.

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I completely understand the areas of dissatisfaction Brian, and I also felt that it dragged for me for about 25-30 pages. But for most of the book I was enchanted by the richness of the writing, the descriptions and the metaphor, and the poetry of the language overcame the sad limitations of the plot and the characters' lives. In that sense, I was persuaded that it was actually a realistic novel, that individuals and a society so impoverished and lacking in education could proceed in just that way, with youthful beauty, promise and energy beaten out of the 4 generations, both literally and figuratively, but still finding joy in life.

I loved the portrayal of the ups and downs of Telumee's life, so dependent on her relationships with her lovers, grandmother and witchy friend Ma Cie. The writing made the immediacy of her feelings and perceptions completely alive for me. For me it was more than ample compensation for the lack of broader context for the lives of the four generations and their immediate communities..

Thanks for reading it along with me!

Ben wrote: "Thanks for reading it along with me!"

My pleasure. And I mean it. I may not have had as great a reading experience as you did but it was still an enjoyable and valuable reading experience for me.

I always press this book on people because of the stunning writing and it seems you were both as struck by the writing as I was. I’m glad you weren’t disappointed in the book.

Nice review, Brian.