Growing up Stupid under the Union Jack: A Memoir - Couverture souple

Clarke, Austin

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 9766371083 ISBN 13 : 9789766371081

Editeur : Ian Randle Publishers,Jamaica, 2003

Synopsis

Book by Clarke Austin

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

Austin Clarke's memoir of adolescence in 1940s Barbados has become a Caribbean classic since first appearing in 1980. Telling of a traditional Public School-style education in the colony nicknamed "Little England", it takes a wry and sometimes comical look at an establishment where Barbadian boys pray for the Royal Family and learn Latin verbs. A mix of patriotism and floggings, Combermere School is a strict training ground for "Little Englanders". In contrast stands the village where the young Austin Clarke, a scholarship boy from a poor family, lives. Full of vigour and spontaneity, village life is worlds apart from the archaic exercises of the classroom. Describing personalities and events, festivities and traditions, Clarke creates an affectionate picture of Caribbean rural society, dominated by the church and the rum shop. Wartime Barbados was even more patriotic than usual, and Clarke's account of hardships, rationing and military service captures the mood of a special period. Part phoney war in which a German invasion was anticipated and part real conflict, in which many Barbadians lost their lives overseas, World War II features prominently in this memoir. Verbally inventive and full of the cadences of Caribbean speech, Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack is a humorous exposé of imperial pretensions. But it also has a more serious side, as it reveals the psychological and cultural damage done by the colonial system.

Revue de presse

Both a wry and perceptive critique of the colonial system and a sharply observed account of childhood. --New Internationalist

A new edition of Growing Up Stupid Under the Union Jack is certainly an occasion for rejoicing. Austin Clarke's sharpness of observation and his gift for rendering the music of peasant speech are a constant delight. --George Lamming

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Ian Randle Publishers,Jamaica
• Date d'édition: 2003
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 9766371083
• ISBN 13: 9789766371081
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 190
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible