IniciGrupsConversesMésTendències
Cerca al lloc
Aquest lloc utilitza galetes per a oferir els nostres serveis, millorar el desenvolupament, per a anàlisis i (si no has iniciat la sessió) per a publicitat. Utilitzant LibraryThing acceptes que has llegit i entès els nostres Termes de servei i política de privacitat. L'ús que facis del lloc i dels seus serveis està subjecte a aquestes polítiques i termes.

Resultats de Google Books

Clica una miniatura per anar a Google Books.

S'està carregant…

Augustown

de Kei Miller

MembresRessenyesPopularitatValoració mitjanaMencions
1929140,475 (4.31)18
"In the wake of Marlon James's Man Booker Prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings, Augustown--set in the backlands of Jamaica--is a magical and haunting novel of one woman's struggle to rise above the brutal vicissitudes of history, race, class, collective memory, violence, and myth. Ma Taffy may be blind but she sees everything. So when her great-nephew Kaia comes home from school in tears, what she senses sends a deep fear running through her. While they wait for his mama to come home from work, Ma Taffy recalls the story of the flying preacherman and a great thing that did not happen. A poor suburban sprawl in the Jamaican heartland, Augustown is a place where many things that should happen don't, and plenty of things that shouldn't happen do. For the story of Kaia leads back to another momentous day in Jamaican history, the birth of the Rastafari and the desire for a better life"--… (més)
S'està carregant…

Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar.

No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra.

» Mira també 18 mencions

5 / 5 ⭐️'ˢ

“Augustown” by Kei Miller

I found this one to be a compelling story that explores the complex social and historical dynamics of a Jamaican community. Set in the eponymous neighborhood of Augustown, the book follows the lives of its inhabitants as they grapple with poverty, prejudice, and the legacy of colonialism.

At the heart is the story of Ma Taffy, an elderly woman who serves as a repository of the community's history and traditions. Through her recollections, we learn about the controversial figure of Alexander Bedward, a charismatic religious leader who preached liberation and self-determination to his followers. Bedward's story is interwoven with that of Kaia, a young boy who is punished for refusing to cut his dreadlocks.

One of the story’s strengths is its evocative prose, which captures the rhythms and cadences of Jamaican English. Miller is a skilled storyteller, adept at weaving together different threads of narrative and creating memorable characters.

Overall, it’s a thought-provoking and moving story that offers a nuanced portrait of a Jamaican community grappling with issues of identity, power, and oppression. This is a book that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it.

Doña Croll does an AMAZING job on the narration of the audiobook!

I read this one this month because it was a recommended read in my ALA reading journal. ( )
  thisgayreads | Nov 4, 2023 |
Absolutely beautiful and riveting!
An immaculate plot and smooth, lyrical writing ( )
  Ellennewa | Jun 1, 2023 |
This is a really good book that manages to be both interesting and a really good read all at once.
The book starts with a chapter describing the locality, where Augustown is, what it looks like, what its people are. And the chapter finished with a short paragraph that is pregnant with possibility - and danger.
For here is the truth: each day contains much more than its own hours, or minutes, or seconds. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that every day contains all of history.
And with that we feel as if we are sitting a powder keg, just waiting for the apparently insignificant spark to set off an unstoppable chain of events.

And yet there are several points at which the story could have turned; the fuse could have been stamped out; but they are evident only in retrospect.

The story revolves around Ma Taffy, primarily, her niece, Gina, and Gina's son Kaia. The story is in 2 main time frames, the events of 11th April 1982 and the events of the past. We hear the story of Bedward , a charismatic preacher of Ma Taffy's youth who flew. Also in the crowd that day was a neighbour who plays a further role in the events of the later story as well.
I liked the way that there is a lot of information and research here, but it's presented lightly. There are a large cast of characters, some of them appear fleetingly, others appear and then reappear in the later time frame . It shows that the events of today are built upon the events of the past and today's trigger only takes place, in some senses, because of the past that is sitting there with threatening potentiality.

There was a lot of dialect in the speech, but the story used this more sparingly, such that it didn't feel that it took a long time to get int the story - I've struggled with dialect in the past, but these seemed manageable. ( )
  Helenliz | Aug 22, 2022 |
This book is not long but packs in a lot. There is Jamaican history, a family saga, and magic realism. Towards the end new characters are still being added and new plotlines being introduced, but it all plays out and is a vivid read. ( )
  AlisonSakai | Feb 20, 2022 |
A hauntingly beautiful and yet brutal story. It's a hard combination to pull off, and Miller does it. Lyricism can be used to make ugly things too pretty and bearable but I never felt that Miller walked into this trap--instead, his poetry of expression allowed me to look straight into the story, and to see the humanity and uniqueness of his characters.

Augustown also manages to tell a lot of story in a little book--only 250 pages. In these ways I prefer it to Marlon James's bludgeon of a masterpiece, A Brief History of Seven Killings. With Augustown, I was better able to enter the book and to enjoy it on its own terms. ( )
  poingu | Feb 22, 2020 |
Es mostren 1-5 de 9 (següent | mostra-les totes)
Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
Has d'iniciar sessió per poder modificar les dades del coneixement compartit.
Si et cal més ajuda, mira la pàgina d'ajuda del coneixement compartit.
Títol normalitzat
Títol original
Títols alternatius
Data original de publicació
Gent/Personatges
Llocs importants
Informació del coneixement compartit en anglès. Modifica-la per localitzar-la a la teva llengua.
Esdeveniments importants
Pel·lícules relacionades
Epígraf
Dedicatòria
Primeres paraules
Citacions
Darreres paraules
Nota de desambiguació
Editor de l'editorial
Creadors de notes promocionals a la coberta
Llengua original
CDD/SMD canònics
LCC canònic

Referències a aquesta obra en fonts externes.

Wikipedia en anglès

Cap

"In the wake of Marlon James's Man Booker Prize-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings, Augustown--set in the backlands of Jamaica--is a magical and haunting novel of one woman's struggle to rise above the brutal vicissitudes of history, race, class, collective memory, violence, and myth. Ma Taffy may be blind but she sees everything. So when her great-nephew Kaia comes home from school in tears, what she senses sends a deep fear running through her. While they wait for his mama to come home from work, Ma Taffy recalls the story of the flying preacherman and a great thing that did not happen. A poor suburban sprawl in the Jamaican heartland, Augustown is a place where many things that should happen don't, and plenty of things that shouldn't happen do. For the story of Kaia leads back to another momentous day in Jamaican history, the birth of the Rastafari and the desire for a better life"--

No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca.

Descripció del llibre
Sumari haiku

Debats actuals

Cap

Dreceres

Valoració

Mitjana: (4.31)
0.5
1
1.5
2 1
2.5
3 3
3.5 1
4 10
4.5 3
5 14

Ets tu?

Fes-te Autor del LibraryThing.

 

Quant a | Contacte | LibraryThing.com | Privadesa/Condicions | Ajuda/PMF | Blog | Botiga | APIs | TinyCat | Biblioteques llegades | Crítics Matiners | Coneixement comú | 203,192,031 llibres! | Barra superior: Sempre visible