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June 15, 2017

DEBUT Despite abolition, slavery leaves behind a traumatic legacy for descendants that often includes marginalization and systemic racism. These aspects are creatively highlighted by Entel (African American and Caribbean literature, Cornell Univ.) in her debut novel, which tells the story of Myrna, who works as a maid at a Caribbean resort built atop a former slave plantation. By night, the curious young woman explores the resort's neglected areas to learn more about the history of its servants. She finds items discarded by the American tourists she serves as well as artifacts left from the days of the plantation. Her greatest discovery is a journal that carefully documents the time of slavery, becoming the catalyst for further investigation into the lives of her family members. One of the novel's most effective components is the weaving of multigenerational and intercontinental relationships among the islanders and Americans who have a history with Furnace Island, where the story takes place. The sometimes fragmented sentences may be difficult for some to follow, but most passages are beautifully descriptive. VERDICT Of special interest to readers of Caribbean and historical fiction but with general appeal.--Ashanti White, Fayetteville, NC

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