Broken Gourds Review - Jamaican Journey
The roots of contemporary Caribbean political and social unrest are dramatically captured in the fascinating new novel, Broken Gourds, by Beresford McLean.
The clash of cultures provides the backdrop for this fascinating look at historical Jamaica from the rich imaginative mind of Jamaica's latest literary talent. Beresford McLean forges a magical path through the island's enchanting hills to the mountain village of Albion, in western St. Mary, planted on the outskirts of British civility.
There the members of that old Ashanti community intermingle the simple threads of their ancient culture with those of their sophisticated non-African counterparts, creating at times bitter conflicts and, at other times, colorful moments of harmony and joyful coexistence.
A full array of characters, from a wise, loving grandmother, an old hermit and his pesky donkey, a vengeful police inspector, to ultimately a naïve healer and would-be king, connect the entire village in a tale of romance and power, despair and hope.
"Ironically," says Mr. McLean, "the very elements that rocked this rustic Jamaican farming village a century ago are still at the core of mankind's search for a sense of self today."
Along with the essence of rich Ghanaian cuisine and the lush greenery of that hilltop village, McLean's prose, sometimes reading like poetry, wonderfully twists and turns this never ending tale of life . . . told with wisdom and a smile . . . into a unique and delightful adventure.
The story follows the simple healer, whose high mission is to empower the oppressed and narrow the gap between the mighty and the powerless. His success, however, attracts the same temptations that all power positions bring. What begins as a simple attempt at helping a young man find his place within the community becomes a social upheaval, knitting together threads of greed and faith, fear and superstition, to create a fabric that vividly reflects a whole mosaic of society.
Such are the ingredients of Broken Gourds, a beautiful journey through the maze of human nature . . . a story of pain and laughter, good and evil, and finally, death and rebirth.
"What I tried to give readers," says the author, "is a chance to reevaluate the frustration and joy of being human."
