- The novel opens with a profound statement, setting the overtone of the story: "My mother died at the moment I was born, and so for my whole life there was nothing standing between myself and eternity; at my back was always a bleak, black wind." How do you interpret this? What does this say about Xuela to you?
- At one point, Kincaid writes, "And so my mother and father then were a mystery to me; one through death, the other through the maze of living; one I had never seen, one I saw constantly." What is the nature of Xuela's relationship with her father? Do you think he is a good man? Why do you think he saw the importance of sending Xuela to school when it was not common for women to attend?
- Xuela aborts the child she is carrying, leaving her barren. She chooses not to be a mother herself, and avoids forming close relationships. She says, "I felt I did not want to belong to anyone, that since the one person I would have consented to own me had never lived to do so, I did not want to belong to anyone; I did not want anyone to belong to me." Does she fear abandonment from those she could be close to, as well as for children of her own, had she chosen to bear them? How would you explain her decision?
- Xuela is born of mixed race; she is part Carib Indian, a dying and defeated culture on the island, and part Scottish and African. The island itself has been colonized by England, and the natives have become oppressed by their rule. Xuela accepts her heritage... "I refused to belong to a race, I refused to accept a nation. I wanted only, and still do want, to observe the people who do so"... yet remains fiercely independent. What do you make of Kincaid's portrayal of race in the novel? What role do politics play? Do you think Kincaid is making a statement about the wealthy and the powerful versus the poor and the weak? The English monarchy?
- The central focus throughout the novel is Xuela's incapability of loving. She loved one man but ended the relationship before he could. "I looked out toward the horizon, which I could not see but knew was there all the same, and this was also true of the end of my love for Roland." Why does she allow herself to love Roland? How is he different?
- Eventually Xuela marries an English doctor, Philip Bailey. How did she come to choose him? Was it merely a coincidence she married someone of higher social standing than herself? Do you think she contributed to the death of Philip's first wife?
- Xuela has a series of unsuccessful relationships with other women. Left with her father's laundress, Ma Eunice, until she was seven, she experienced a loveless life of solitude. Her stepmother jealously tormented her until she left to live with friends of her father's. Perhaps her only friendship, that with Madame LaBatte, ended shortly. Her half-sister despised her as the result of her mother's influence and Philip's demanding first wife treated Xuela as an inferior. Yet, despite the lonely life she led, Xuela felt it unnecessary to form relationships. Do you think these women were intimidated by Xuela's independence? How did Xuela regard her half-sister? Why did Xuela abandon the only friendship she had, with Madame LaBatte?
- Xuela selfishly takes extreme pleasure from her intense sexual encounters. What do you think is the driving force behind this attraction? Is her sexuality liberating? A form of power and control?
- How would you characterize Xuela? Do you find her likable? Do you think she takes any enjoyment out of life? "Everything in my life, good or bad, to which I am inextricably bound is a source of pain." Is she to blame for this?
- As time passes, Xuela finds herself alone, everyone known to her deceased. There is nothing left for her except death, the only inevitable certainty. She admits, "The fact of my mother dying at the moment I was born became a central motif of my life." Looking back on how she lived her life, does she say this with regret? What would she change, if she could? Do you feel sorry for her?
At the Bottom of the River
Kincaid's first published book, At the Bottom of the River, has won wide acclaim for its magical ability to transport readers from one place to another. This extraordinary collection of ten short stories is filled with humor, empathy, mystery, and pure passion. Kincaid takes us into a Caribbean child's life, reveals the dangers of supernatural forces and ghosts, opens the door to a culture's exotic beliefs and practices, and enthusiastically explores the island's luscious landscape. In this world, sensuality, fierce emotions, and death uneasily coexist with churchgoing, teatime, and British school teachings. Each story presents a different theme, some of which will be reflected in future novels of Kincaid's. Taking what some may consider ordinary, Kincaid transforms it into exceptional, unforgettable tales.
0-45-226754-4
Annie John
With Annie John, Kincaid has completed themes begun in At the Bottom of the River. The two are companion volumes, and now Annie John fills in between the bits of River, giving the passions rationale. The powerful bond between mother and daughter is again the focus in this story. Annie John describes her life on Antigua from the age of ten, when she was still secure in her mother's love, to 17, when she leaves home fearful but determined. Annie John begins by adoring her mother, feeling sheltered and protected, but comes to hate her. The closeness shared between the two is shattered by Annie John's adolescence. Her mother's new and cautious approach is interpreted as rejection, and Annie John responds with her own betrayals. Death, illness, and poverty intrude on Annie John's perceptive sensibility from time to time, but even these experiences instruct her and expand her understanding of life and its shifting reality. While the exotic Caribbean setting gives particularity to the story, it is indeed about the painful, inevitable end of childhood.
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Lucy
A fitting successor to Annie John, this story tells us of one year in the life of Lucy, a Caribbean woman who has left her home at 19 to become an au pair and study nursing in America. At first she is dazzled by her new life, the perfect family she is an au pair for, and the luxuries of freedom. She rides in an elevator and eats from a refrigerator for the first time, and sleeps soundly her first night in this new place. Yet she is surprised to find that she is homesick for the very people back home whose every gesture used to drive her into a rage. Her relationship with her mother becomes very distant, and she stops responding to the letters which come regularly. Lucy tries to escape from the voice which has told her she will never get away from her past, but as she observes the people and possibilities of her new situation, her old life keeps coming up in her mind and comparison helps her to understand where she is and what she does not want. Dubbed "The Visitor" by the children she cares for, she is told to consider herself as part of the family and comes to love the woman she works for. However, Lucy is puzzled by their comfort, and is uncooperative when others want her to fit in or feel as they planned. She has an experimental indifference, a sane ingratitude, toward the people who offer her friendship, sex, or opportunities, as she drops nursing, then the au pair job. Her survival is based on not letting anyone get to her. At the climax of the novel she experiences the tears of loss she has been putting off throughout. Here Kincaid has created one of her most charming and willful characters yet.
0-45-226677-7
A Small Place
In A Small Place, a nonfiction portrait of a damaged Antigua, we are given a scourging view of a paradise gone awry. Inspired by a visit to Antigua 19 years after she left, Kincaid describes the injury done to her hometown by tourism and colonialism. In a tone filled with love, pride, nostalgia, and hatred, she reveals a land of ungodly natural beauty, external oppression, and internal corruption, a legacy of one government's control over Antigua's defeated people. This piece of work may come as a shock to those who have read her other novels. A Small Place strays from Kincaid's familiar stories about mothers and daughters coming of age. Directly addressing tourists, Kincaid angrily reveals the indignities suffered by the Antiguan people, the humiliation of poverty, illiteracy, and lack of self-respect. Kincaid's passion compels us to think for the first time about the people beyond the beautiful landscape - their history and customs. This electrifying work is a classic in the literature of love and hate for a tortured land and the desire to change things.
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