Unburnable

March 20, 2006
John takes readers into Caribbean culture and contemporary black America to explore family and oppression in this affecting but flawed debut novel. Lillian, a 30-something native of Dominica, now an activist in Washington, D.C., suffered a breakdown at 14 after discovering the identity of her birth mother, Iris: the beautiful, insane village prostitute whose own mother, the famous healer Matilda, was convicted of multiple murder and hung. Sent to live with her aunt in New York, Lillian grows up shielded from her history, avoiding troubling questions about herself and keeping friends distant. Her only real friend is Teddy Morgan, a self-absorbed historian she's pined after since their college days. Twenty years after leaving Dominica, Lillian is determined to return, in hopes of learning what happened to her mother, grandmother and herself—and she's determined to bring Teddy with her. John switches between Lillian's present day and the mid-century lives of Matilda and Iris, who are warm, vibrant characters and a welcome contrast to Lillian's gloom-and-doom. Aloof from the outset, it's never clear why, after 20 years without contact, Lillian wants to investigate her past, and her calculated manipulation of Teddy makes her hard to feel for. However, strong writing and interesting supporting characters should keep readers occupied through the end.

The perceived sins of the mother are visited upon the daughters in Marie-Elena John's multilayered debut novel about three generations of black women. Throughout her career, actress Robin Miles has delighted listeners with her interpretations of colorful characters of the African diaspora. Here, Miles adds texture and layers, using accents and cultural nuances to enhance the story of activist Lillian Baptiste and the mysterious lives of her mother and grandmother. Miles's rhythmic delivery takes listeners on Lillian's journey of self-discovery through time--from Africa and the Caribbean, full-circle to modern-day Washington, DC. G.O. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

March 1, 2006
The psychological damage caused by not knowing one -s personal history comes center stage in John -s alluring debut. Thirty-seven-year-old Lillian Baptiste, a native of Dominica, has lived in the United States for 23 years and has never returned home. But she has never stopped questioning -maybe even obsessing over -what happened to the women in her family. Although Lillian does not have many facts, she knows that her mother, a prostitute, died in prison shortly after visiting the home the child shared with her stepmother. She also knows that her maternal grandmother, an alleged murderer and purveyor of Obeah, was hung. Was her grandmother truly guilty? What happened at her trial? Had her mother been trying to confide something before passing on? When Lillian eventually returns to the island, she is accompanied by her longtime friend Teddy, a scholar of African culture. Together, they slowly uncover what tranB-spired. The result is a page-turner, melding magical realism with historical fact and fascinating social observations about the politics of class, gender, and race. Although the denouement is somewhat unsatisfying, this layered, compassionate novel is highly recommended." -Eleanor J. Bader, Brooklyn, NY"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2006
This compelling first novel traces the fortunes of three generations of women from the small Caribbean Island of Dominica. Matilda, descended from African slaves, was a famous healer and possible murderer. The story of her hanging was handed down in songs. Her daughter, Iris, was famous as the jilted lover of a rich man and the victim of a horrific rape. Her subsequent insanity and death also became legendary. Iris' daughter, Lillian, was raised by her devoutly Catholic stepmother. Until the age of 15 she remains unaware that the infamous women of song are her legacy. Now living in Washington, D.C., the fragile, adult Lillian returns to Dominica to try to unravel the history of her family. The richly told narrative alternates between time periods, building suspense and compassion for all of the characters. The possibly insane Lillian is the least well rounded of the women, which makes the final chapters a little disappointing. The diversity of the African diaspora is often overlooked in modern African American literature, and this page-turner fills in some gaps.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)