Novella-length, almost. Written in the speech trinidadians used, at least in those days (1982), the story tells of the villagers of Bonasse. The story centers around the repression of their religion, how the authorities do everything in their power to shut down the way they worship. They want these West Indies baptists to stop enjoying their religion so much, stop dancing and clapping and speaking in tongues when the spirit moves them, and act more like docile, "decent," quiet, respectful anglicans and catholics. The church is representative of their whole culture, the way they care for their families, and their neighbors, the way they live close to the Earth, taking their living from it and caring for it and loving it and praising it. To shut down their religion takes away their life-blood, and almost destroys their spirit. ( )

My thoughts:
• I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed this book. It has been some time since I read a “Caribbean Classic” and I wondered how I missed this book as during the 80s and early 90s I was reading most of the books that were part of the Heinemann Caribbean Writers Series.
• This book was 146 pages and the author did a impressive job of telling the story of a small community and the challenges they faced in a recent post-colonial world, the “invasion” of American soldiers and how it affected (or maybe just accelerated) the transition the challenges of a modern more urban focused culture, and the challenge of violence vs patience (working through the approved process) for achieving equality goals.
• I thought this book did an excellent job of showing how there was a common goal to get rid of the yoke of colonialism and to have "freedom", but because each individual has/had their own definition of what "freedom" was and what was the path to freedom and how this "freedom" would be measured.
• I thought that the author was very clever to use a female narrator. Though I will admit at first I was a little miffed at the portrayal of female characters. But then I remembered the time when this book was published, the time period that this book is covering. As in most of the literature that covers a pre & post colonial experience women were very much involved and played key roles but were mostly not the front people that were allowed to represent the people. The females were/is the glue that often held it all together and I felt the narrator, Eva, played that role here. It has often been said because women are/were not given equal status to men, they are good at manipulation to get what they want.
• I also liked the history lesson about the Shouters prohibition Ordinance.
• Overall the lyrical language, great pacing, well-developed character sketches, and the thought provoking themes made this an excellent read for me.
• I highly recommend to readers interested in post-colonial experiences and those interested in current issues in post-colonial societies. ( )

Lovelace profiles the trials facing the Spiritual Baptist community in a rural village in the island of Trinidad. The Colonial government make it illegal for members to practice a faith, they found base and vulgar, because their loud, musical and highly interactive ceremonies so foreign to the solemn church services they were accustomed to.

The language is very Trinidadian. Lovelace deserves praise for accurately rendering the sing song speech patterns. In fact, I found myself wanting to read this novel aloud.

He also deserves praise for his character development. No one is spared the harsh realities of life. The heroes are flawed, the villains have depth. You may not agree with their actions, but he traces their journey clearly. Therefore upon review, you may find yourself thinking that you saw it coming, very much like you would in real life.

Lastly, I loved the physical environment. I could see the village of Bonasse, very clearly. It reminded me of places, yet had very unique characteristics. If ever there was a novel that deserved to be turned to film, it was this once. I can't recommend this book enough. ( )