Review 1:
Mid West Book Review/Small Press Bookwatch
Beresford McLean
Anancy Books
PO Box 28677, San Jose, CA 95159
0975329715 $17.95
www.anancybooks.com

Providence Pond: 5 Stars.
Rooted in Jamaican folklore and African mythology, Providence Pond by novelist Beresford McLean is a remarkable tale depicting British attempts to influence ancient African customs in the process of reshaping Providence, Jamaica. Engaging the reader with its exceptionally well written and quite unique perspective, Providence Pond draws upon the communal Jamaican lifestyle centered in the African mores of Kumina wisdom and the everyday experiences of the Jamaican natives as their family concepts of love, truth, and hope are all threatened by the largely British-dominant society. Highly entertaining, Providence Pond is very strongly recommended reading and a welcome addition to any community library fiction collection.

Review 2:
FICTION: HISTORICAL / LITERARY
ForeWord Magazine
Beresford McLean
Anancy Books
502 pages
Softcover, $17.95
0-9753297-1-5

Providence Pond: 4 stars
Love and marriage, faith, betrayal, kindness, selfishness and tolerance are just some of the thematic riches that surface in this multigenerational saga set in Jamaica. Linked together by the body of water which keeps their farms fertile, the families of Providence explore their relationships with one another and their goals in life.

As the book opens, Afia is heartbroken because her bridegroom, Bem, disappeared right after their wedding. Her best friend tries to console her, but neither is prepared for the events that take place after Vijay Boydell and Aren Tyler find Afia naked one night at the Pond. Vijay, bitter at what he sees as Bem’s theft of Afia from him, later visits Afia and gets her pregnant. This sets in motion a pattern of behavior in which children are treated like inferiors or outright outcasts—a pattern that is repeated in the next generations as personal relationships become more and more entwined and complicated.

Enter Asa King, the Kumina leader, who announces his desire to start a new Family in Providence. Kumina, an African religion, involves caring for the bodies of the dead so that ancestral spirits can speak through those bodies. Denounced in Jamaica by the English and persecuted by Christians, Kumina was regarded with great suspicion and even fear; Asa, nonetheless, seeks to establish a new Kumina community and he brings his children, Congo and Miss Hene, to act as Father and Mother to the new group.

This is a fascinating, if sometimes hard to follow story about people who persevere despite enormous challenges. Readers ignorant of Jamaican history and Kumina will have to make frequent trips to the author’s Afterword for explanations. Yet his characters are warm and interesting, and readers will want to learn what happens to Congo, Ulu, and Laura; Ama and Leroy; Yoofi and Charm and even Shep the dog. Other fascinating personalities such as Puncus St. John, who is a Kumina Dancer and the proprietor of the Any Questions tavern; Doctor Devinder Singh, who writes the death certificates for the deceased members of the Kumina Family who Walk; Monsignor Silva; Detective Graham; and Reverend Watkins are interwoven throughout the story. The characters mature and change, as people do, and if their actions sometimes seem illogical, their forbearance and endurance are admirable—as is their growth.

While some characters fail to redeem themselves, as people often do, others undergo transformations that are truly remarkable. Warm and caring, Providence Pond is a novel about a truly exotic world that readers will be pleased to come to know.
Reviewed by Marlene Y. Satter - ForeWord Magazine

Review3:
Kirkus Reviews
Providence Pond

A spiritual family epic set in Jamaica between the 1880s and 1920s.

Following her new husband’s disappearance after her wedding, Afia, in grief and confusion, succumbs to the advances of wealthy landowner Vijay Boydell. When her husband, Bem Covey, returns four months later, she must tell him that she is pregnant. Covey then calls Boydell, along with others, to Providence Pond in order to determine a course of action. A mysterious stranger, Asa, suddenly arrives to settle things in a more civilized manner than the murderous intentions of Covey and Boydell. Asa also tells the group that he is the King of a Kumina Family, that he intends to start a new Family in Providence and that he will soon return with his son and daughter, who will lead them. When Afia’s baby is born, she is named Ama King. Years later, after the population of Providence has been decimated by an epidemic of smallpox, Asa returns with his son, Congo, and his daughter, Miss Hene, to begin building a new Kumina Family. Though apprehensive of the mysterious faith—it involves “walking” the dead, and has been outlawed in a Jamaica still dominated by British laws and customs—Afia and her family are drawn to the love and wisdom that Congo and Miss Hene bring to their community. After many years, and a meandering path of both happiness and pain, a new Kumina Family is finally born in Providence. McLean (<i>Broken Gourds</i>, 2002) offers a finely wrought epic based on thorough knowledge of Jamaican history and culture, but the scope of the novel often outpaces the narrative focus, as many of the characters are merely signposts along the well-orchestrated, engrossing journey.
A trip worth taking.

Review 4:
Rex Nettleford
Vice Chancellor Emeritus
University of the West Indies

Beresford McLean’s Providence Pond is an engaging narrative of resilience, hope-in-despair following severance from ancestral hearths, of on-going spiritual renewal and the power of love as part of the intangible heritage of Africa in the Americas. It not only makes a good read but also commands a mandatory embrace by all who treasure the invincibility of the human spirit against all odds.

Review 5:
Romance Junkies
Providence Pond
Reviewer: Leigh Orlowski

PROVIDENCE POND is the story of a Jamaican family and community, with a strong sense of folklore and African mythology. You’ll be brought into the lives of one woman, her family, and friends in nineteenth century rural Jamaica.

Afia is a young, independent Jamaican woman who moves to Providence to be married. When her husband disappears directly after her wedding, Afia is distraught and grieving. An impulsive dare becomes a catalyst that changes the course of her life, as well as all of those around her.

When seven villagers, Afia among them, gather to deal with the outcome of her dare, conflict arises. Settlement occurs with the arrival of Asa King, who seeks to unite the seven into his Kumina Family, an African religion based on love. Having sewn the seeds of his faith, Asa departs, promising to return in time with his children who will help build the Kumina Family in Providence.

He returns many years later, bringing with him his children Miss Hene and M. Congo King. You’re caught up in the story as it unfolds, telling of the lives of Asa and Afia’s children and grandchildren, their struggle to form the Kumina Family, and struggles in their relationships with one another.

PROVIDENCE POND is a warm and engaging tale of family, love, and friendship. The folklore base of the story gives it a feeling of a family tale passed down to the reader, with the parable of only needing to show love. This is a wonderful novel, and I look forward to more of Beresford McLean’s work.

Review 6:
Providence Pond

Novelist Beresford McLean’s Providence Pond is a timeless and unforgettable story of raging passions, unions and betrayals, infidelities and reconciliations, and the parallel story of a community’s rebirth. Set in rural Jamaica, the world of Providence Pond is both real and mystical. The complex caste of characters who inhabit it are knit together by their collective pasts, their intense personal relationships and, whether they know it or not, by their mission: reinventing a family community rooted in the African rite of Kumina. The 19th century martyr Paul Bogle is a presence, a slave dungeon is kept in use, death is not what it seems, meals are prepared by unseen hands and a loyal dog is also a spirit messenger. Providence Pond is a narrative extravaganza that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end.

Elizabeth Abbott, Ph.D., is the author of Haiti: The Duvaliers and their Legacy,
A History of Celibacy and A History of Mistresses.

Review 7:
Book Review: Providence Pond.

Beresford McLean’s Providence Pond is an inspiring folktale set in the fictional village of Providence, Jamaica. This historical novel, spanning 1880 to 1920 is about faith, community, love and family. In sumptuous prose McLean beautifully paints a clear and concise picture of the ethnic mosaic of colonial Jamaica and specifically the life cycles of agrarian Providence revolving around the pond, a place for play, gatherings, love and worship – for an expression of village-life itself!

Early in the story, Asa the mystical leader of a Kumina family introduces Congo his son who’s given mission is to build a new family in Providence. Congo, however, detour to a wife, a mistress, and the to-and-fro of everyday life. His early successes in business and illicit love soon falter due to betrayal from a deceitful brother-in-law. Driven from his home by a jealous and overachieving wife, and having lost his mistress to a business-partner, Congo painfully reexamine his life and mission. He remorsefully accepts the challenge and sets out to fulfill his duty. In the end he establishes a new family in Providence and love prevails.

McLean’s Providence Pond is a timely, engaging tale, rich in cultural mores and ancient wisdom. It is a delicious narrative told with warmth and wit. Providence Pond is a highly recommended read – a must for every bookshelf!
Cyril Heitner, PhD., retired: McGill University.

Review 8:
Bud Harris
Review of Providence Pond
Beresford McLean's second novel Providence Pond impresses itself on us by evoking the richness of life - a story of life in Jamaica that is foreign to most of us but whose depth will resonate with all of us. Beneath this novel's compelling story lies the human conflict between civilization's march and the deeper roots of our heritage that resides in our ancestral psyche. Providence Pond is joyful and painful, absorbing, enlightening and provoking.
Bud Harris, Ph.D. Author of Sacred Selfishness.

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