Shortlisted for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize 2022.
Finalist of the 2022 Firecracker Award in Fiction.
Coconut trees. Carnival. Rum and coke. To many outsiders, these and other sunny images are all they know about life in the Caribbean. However, if you want to learn how the locals truly live and experience the dark and often harrowing truths that lurk behind the idyllic imagery of Caribbean culture, then come visit the town of Pleasantview.
Come during election season, and see how one cand... Read More
Shortlisted for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize 2022.
Finalist of the 2022 Firecracker Award in Fiction.
Coconut trees. Carnival. Rum and coke. To many outsiders, these and other sunny images are all they know about life in the Caribbean. However, if you want to learn how the locals truly live and experience the dark and often harrowing truths that lurk behind the idyllic imagery of Caribbean culture, then come visit the town of Pleasantview.
Come during election season, and see how one cand... Read More
Description
Winner of the 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Fiction.
Shortlisted for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize 2022.
Finalist of the 2022 Firecracker Award in Fiction.
Coconut trees. Carnival. Rum and coke. To many outsiders, these and other sunny images are all they know about life in the Caribbean. However, if you want to learn how the locals truly live and experience the dark and often harrowing truths that lurk behind the idyllic imagery of Caribbean culture, then come visit the town of Pleasantview.
Come during election season, and see how one candidate sets out to slaughter endangered turtles - just for fun. Or come on the day the other candidate beats his "outside-woman," so badly she ends up losing their baby. Then come on the night of the political rally, where this grieving woman exacts a very public revenge. Stay a while, and see how this single event has a trajectory far beyond the lives of the immediate actors, with often tragic and heartbreaking consequences.
Written in a remarkable combination of Standard English and Trinidad Creole, Pleasantview showcases the entrenched political, racial, and class dichotomies of life in Trinidad: the generosity (yet cruelty) of the average Trini; the sense of optimism (and yet, despair) which permeates everyday interaction; and the musicality of Caribbean creole (kriol) expression that masks an ingrained and frequently violent patriarchy.
Merging the vibrancy and darkness of recent Caribbean writers such as Ingrid Persaud and Claire Adam with the linguistic experimentation of Marlon James's A Brief History of Seven Killings, Pleasantview is a landmark work in international fiction.
Details
Price: £16.99£16.99
Pages: 320
Publisher: Jacaranda books
Imprint: Jacaranda Books
Publication Date: 9th September 2021
Trim Size: 160 x 236 mm
ISBN: 9781913090890
Format: Trade binding
Reviews
The residents of Pleasantview come to vivid light in this extraordinary debut from Celeste Mohammed. Each slice of life in this Trinidadian village cuts clean to the bone, revealing how people are both complicated and complicit in the way we break each other's hearts and bodies. From the riveting opening to the aching end, Mohammed's gift for giving voice to each character is glorious.
- Tracey Baptiste
In one of Chekhov's stories, a character says that every happy man should have someone who taps at his door with a little hammer, reminding him that there are unhappy people in the world. Reading Celeste Mohammed's novel-in-stories makes me think of that magical little tap-except that the door opens not to a vision of unhappiness, but to a world crammed with life that you never knew existed.
- Claire Adam, author of The Golden Child
As James Joyce did for Dublin, Celeste Mohammed holds up a polished mirror to the inhabitants of the fictitious Trinidadian town of Pleasantview and dares the reader to take an unflinching look at a multi-ethnic society that is vibrant and joyous but riddled with corruption and the exploitation of women, the young, and the vulnerable. Mohammed's writing is smart, funny, and enlivened by everyday Trinidadian vernacular, creating rich and lively portraits of a range of Trini characters. A formidable debut, Pleasantview's razor-sharp observations of misogyny and the abuse of power are leavened by humor and a pitch-perfect ear for the language of human foibles.
- Tony Eprile, author of The Persistence of Memory
Pleasantview offers the reader a sharp and fearless view of the dark underbelly of life in Trinidad, filled with unforgettable characters that we meet in do-or-die situations. Marked by male violence, political underhandedness, and economic desperation, Pleasantview also demonstrates Mohammed's remarkable range as a writer as she moves seamlessly from callousness to tenderness, humor to sorrow, lyricism to minimalism in a work that lingers in the reader's mind long after the final page. This is a thrilling debut.
- Laurie Foos, author of Ex Utero and The Blue Girl
The residents of the fictional Trinidadian town of Pleasantview are divided by mistrust and racial and ethnic tension, but they are forever bound to each other by their shared histories and secrets. From Omar who is forced to confront his boss's corruption, to Miss Ivy in her employer's hand-me-down fur coat outside the police station, Mohammed's characters demand to be acknowledged. In this beautifully written debut, Mohammed gives voice to the silenced and the overlooked. Pleasantview sizzles with originality and heart and introduces a fearless new writer.
- Hester Kaplan, author of Unravished
Pungent and searing, this is a refreshing portrait of island life told in stories that are crafted with candor and movement. Bursting with wisdom and humanity, it's hard to believe that this book is Mohammed's debut.
- Candice Iloh
These stories are full of unexpected twists and connections and infused with humor. They herald the arrival of an intriguing new voice.
- Ingrid Persaud
Celeste Mohammed forces you to travel with her characters. You see their lives and their world as they do, on foot. You walk in her characters' shoes. Mohammed is a skillful storyteller, so the journey educates and exhilarates you, Mohammed invents a clear, crackling town/district, Pleasantview, a bustling, hustling side of Trinidad, where few of us have ever been, or will ever go. Pleasantview forces us to look at how we behave when uncontained, when unconstrained, when our lack of morality unmoors us.
- A.J. Verdelle, author of The Good Negress
Author Bio
Celeste has been a lawyer since 2001 but she has been telling stories all her life. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, in 2016, she graduated from Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction). Celeste's goal is to dispel all myths about island-life and island-people, and to showcase the musicality and resonance of Trinidadian creole (kriol). Her work has appeared in The New England Review, Litmag, Epiphany, The Rumpus, among other places. She is the recipient of a 2018 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She was also awarded the 2019 Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction, and the 2017 John D Gardner Memorial Prize for Fiction.
Shortlisted for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize 2022.
Finalist of the 2022 Firecracker Award in Fiction.
Coconut trees. Carnival. Rum and coke. To many outsiders, these and other sunny images are all they know about life in the Caribbean. However, if you want to learn how the locals truly live and experience the dark and often harrowing truths that lurk behind the idyllic imagery of Caribbean culture, then come visit the town of Pleasantview.
Come during election season, and see how one candidate sets out to slaughter endangered turtles - just for fun. Or come on the day the other candidate beats his "outside-woman," so badly she ends up losing their baby. Then come on the night of the political rally, where this grieving woman exacts a very public revenge. Stay a while, and see how this single event has a trajectory far beyond the lives of the immediate actors, with often tragic and heartbreaking consequences.
Written in a remarkable combination of Standard English and Trinidad Creole, Pleasantview showcases the entrenched political, racial, and class dichotomies of life in Trinidad: the generosity (yet cruelty) of the average Trini; the sense of optimism (and yet, despair) which permeates everyday interaction; and the musicality of Caribbean creole (kriol) expression that masks an ingrained and frequently violent patriarchy.
Merging the vibrancy and darkness of recent Caribbean writers such as Ingrid Persaud and Claire Adam with the linguistic experimentation of Marlon James's A Brief History of Seven Killings, Pleasantview is a landmark work in international fiction.
Price: £16.99£16.99
Pages: 320
Publisher: Jacaranda books
Imprint: Jacaranda Books
Publication Date: 9th September 2021
Trim Size: 160 x 236 mm
ISBN: 9781913090890
Format: Trade binding
The residents of Pleasantview come to vivid light in this extraordinary debut from Celeste Mohammed. Each slice of life in this Trinidadian village cuts clean to the bone, revealing how people are both complicated and complicit in the way we break each other's hearts and bodies. From the riveting opening to the aching end, Mohammed's gift for giving voice to each character is glorious.
– Tracey Baptiste
In one of Chekhov's stories, a character says that every happy man should have someone who taps at his door with a little hammer, reminding him that there are unhappy people in the world. Reading Celeste Mohammed's novel-in-stories makes me think of that magical little tap-except that the door opens not to a vision of unhappiness, but to a world crammed with life that you never knew existed.
– Claire Adam, author of The Golden Child
As James Joyce did for Dublin, Celeste Mohammed holds up a polished mirror to the inhabitants of the fictitious Trinidadian town of Pleasantview and dares the reader to take an unflinching look at a multi-ethnic society that is vibrant and joyous but riddled with corruption and the exploitation of women, the young, and the vulnerable. Mohammed's writing is smart, funny, and enlivened by everyday Trinidadian vernacular, creating rich and lively portraits of a range of Trini characters. A formidable debut, Pleasantview's razor-sharp observations of misogyny and the abuse of power are leavened by humor and a pitch-perfect ear for the language of human foibles.
– Tony Eprile, author of The Persistence of Memory
Pleasantview offers the reader a sharp and fearless view of the dark underbelly of life in Trinidad, filled with unforgettable characters that we meet in do-or-die situations. Marked by male violence, political underhandedness, and economic desperation, Pleasantview also demonstrates Mohammed's remarkable range as a writer as she moves seamlessly from callousness to tenderness, humor to sorrow, lyricism to minimalism in a work that lingers in the reader's mind long after the final page. This is a thrilling debut.
– Laurie Foos, author of Ex Utero and The Blue Girl
The residents of the fictional Trinidadian town of Pleasantview are divided by mistrust and racial and ethnic tension, but they are forever bound to each other by their shared histories and secrets. From Omar who is forced to confront his boss's corruption, to Miss Ivy in her employer's hand-me-down fur coat outside the police station, Mohammed's characters demand to be acknowledged. In this beautifully written debut, Mohammed gives voice to the silenced and the overlooked. Pleasantview sizzles with originality and heart and introduces a fearless new writer.
– Hester Kaplan, author of Unravished
Pungent and searing, this is a refreshing portrait of island life told in stories that are crafted with candor and movement. Bursting with wisdom and humanity, it's hard to believe that this book is Mohammed's debut.
– Candice Iloh
These stories are full of unexpected twists and connections and infused with humor. They herald the arrival of an intriguing new voice.
– Ingrid Persaud
Celeste Mohammed forces you to travel with her characters. You see their lives and their world as they do, on foot. You walk in her characters' shoes. Mohammed is a skillful storyteller, so the journey educates and exhilarates you, Mohammed invents a clear, crackling town/district, Pleasantview, a bustling, hustling side of Trinidad, where few of us have ever been, or will ever go. Pleasantview forces us to look at how we behave when uncontained, when unconstrained, when our lack of morality unmoors us.
– A.J. Verdelle, author of The Good Negress
Celeste has been a lawyer since 2001 but she has been telling stories all her life. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, in 2016, she graduated from Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, with an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction). Celeste's goal is to dispel all myths about island-life and island-people, and to showcase the musicality and resonance of Trinidadian creole (kriol). Her work has appeared in The New England Review, Litmag, Epiphany, The Rumpus, among other places. She is the recipient of a 2018 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She was also awarded the 2019 Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction, and the 2017 John D Gardner Memorial Prize for Fiction.
From Elephant and Castle to Southwark, from London Bridge to Westminster, Black History Walks takes you to historic locations around the city of London and gives in-depth historical context for each place, illuminating the presence of Black history throughout Britain's capital city.
In this guide, you'll get: - Comprehensive coverage of historical places in London that have a relationship with Africa; -How the most touristic attractions are actually hidden gems from Africa; - Connections to places with African roots in this British metropolis; - Walking tour routes that can be self-walked or done in tandem with the official Black History Walks tour.
A Quick Ting On: Afrobeats
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Afrobeats is a fast-growing genre, one that has carved out a distinct and powerful Black identity rooted within the African continent.
The first book of its kind, A Quick Ting On: Afrobeats chronicles the social and cultural development of the eponymous music genre, tracing its rich history from the African continent all the way to the musical centre of the Western world.
This exciting new book takes a unique look at the music of the African diaspora and their children, delving into how Afrobeats and its sub-genres have provided new articulations of Black identity and pride. It remembers the Afrobeats pioneers and memorable cultural moments, as well as investigating the impact of African migration, travel and modernisation on the genre.
A Quick Ting On: Afrobeats provides an insightful look at how Afrobeats became the explosive music genre it is today.
MANDEM
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A Quick Ting On: The Black Girl Afro
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Black Women's hair is a topic that has been at the centre of contemporary conversation for some time. This informative book explores the rich cultural history of Black Womens' Afros, weaving in anecdotal tales from Black women along the way.
Exploring the ways in which Black women's natural hair is often politicised and judged, A Quick Ting On The Black Girl Afro chronicles the ways in which the styling of Black Women's hair has influenced popular culture and intersected with Black expression.
Complete with intimate interviews and real-life stories about natural hair journeys and the hunt for hair products, A Quick Ting On The Black Girl Afro is a powerful exploration into the Black Woman's Afro - celebrating the versatility and diversity of Black women's natural hair.
A Quick Ting On: Plantain
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As seen in Grazia, the Guardian, and more...
Recognised as one of the most beloved fruits of the Black diaspora, Plantain holds profound value within the cultures and communities it is part of.
Compiled for the first time in one vibrant volume, A Quick Ting On: Plantain is an infectious cultural insight into the versatile fruit. Discover its contested historical origins, its multilingual etymology, the biochemistry that sets Plantain apart from regular bananas and, yes, the War of Pronunciation... Is it Plan-tain or Plan-tin?
Containing recipes from across the African continent, the Caribbean, Latin America and South Asia, author Rui Da Silva paints an astonishing international history of Plantain - celebrating food within Black households across the globe as an intimate marker of identity and culture.
From recent developments in farming practices to the effects of food gentrification on working-class Afro-Caribbean communities, Rui also explores the politics behind Plantain. Inflation, Fairtrade, and climate change all have a part to play in the ongoing journey of this coveted fruit.
Unifying stories of innovation, hardship and, above all, love, A Quick Ting On: Plantain is a delicious ode to the intersection of food, culture and humanity.
LOTE
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WINNER of the James Tait Black Prize 2021 and The Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021.
As seen in Document Journal,Guardian and The White Review
Lush and frothy, incisive and witty, Shola von Reinhold's decadent queer literary debut immerses readers in the pursuit of aesthetics and beauty, while interrogating the removal and obscurement of Black figures from history.
Solitary Mathilda has long been enamored with the 'Bright Young Things' of the 20s, and throughout her life, her attempts at reinvention have mirrored their extravagance and artfulness. After discovering a photograph of the forgotten Black modernist poet Hermia Druitt, who ran in the same circles as the Bright Young Things that she adores, Mathilda becomes transfixed and resolves to learn as much as she can about the mysterious figure. Her search brings her to a peculiar artists' residency in Dun, a small European town Hermia was known to have lived in during the 30s. The artists' residency throws her deeper into a lattice of secrets and secret societies that takes hold of her aesthetic imagination, but will she be able to break the thrall of her Transfixions?
From champagne theft and Black Modernisms, to art sabotage, alchemy and lotus-eating proto-luxury communist cults, Mathilda's journey through modes of aesthetic expression guides her to truth and the convoluted ways it is made and obscured.
