No Telephone to Heaven

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Not a straightforward story in time sequence, so if you like Toni Morrison you'll like this. The plot is about a young Jamaican woman's identity crisis--race, sex, class, politics, country--but what intrigued me the most was the very graphic descriptions of the "dungle" where the homeless women and children live, on top of a garbage heap surrounded by fencing, vs. the descriptions of the life of the wealthy in Jamaica, and how little they know about each other. The gap between rich and poor is horrendous,and Cliff does a great job getting into the minds and motivations of the unschooled, illiterate, unknown although everywhere poor. Time period is the 1950's-1980's; during the Manley/Marley years, violent political uprisings and the threat of revolution play an important role. Lots of great symbolism for English professors teaching Caribbean literature too.

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This book is about a girl, Clare, who is half white and half black. She is born in Jamaica and taken to America as a young child by her father. Her mixed heritage manifests itself in her skin color, thereby setting her apart from her peers in America. Not quite fulfilled by her life in Ameica, she moves back to Jamaica and encounters the poverty and hopelessness of the native blacks, along with hatred directed at her because she is lighter-skinned than the rest of them, and comes from a more privileged upbringing. At several points, Clare witnesses the despair and hatred breaking out into violence. One of these is when the mansion of a rich white man is burned down by poor blacks. Overall, the book is an interesting read, and shows how neither culture, American and Jamaican, are truly open and accepting, and what happens to someone who tries to fit into both.

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I'm a college student, and I feel quite priveledged to have been assigned this book to read for an English Literature class. Actually, that doesn't really make sense but I love my professor for it. This book totally rips the facade of the tourist's Jamaica, and allows the truth to be seen. It's full of binary relationships, between Clares mother and father, Clare vs Christopher, Harry/Harriet, Afro-caribbean and Afro-American, oppressed and oppressor. It's amazing to see the differences in the racism shown in Clare's time in New York and the racism in Jamaica. I completely identified with Clare's seeking her roots, and feeling like a drifter, untouchable, unfazeable. Get ready to be amazed, to come to terms with your own history and your own roots.

Rating:

No Telephone to Heaven is one of the best cultural novels i have read this year. This non linear novel engulfs the reader in the adventures and struggles of its characters, demonstrating how culture and colonialism can bring people together and at the same time tear them apart. This deeply moving novel tells of the trials and tribulations of the protagonist, Clare and her inner struggle to seek connection and inner peace. It is wonderfully written and poetic. I finished the book in two sittings and highly reccomend it to those who enjoy novels of culture.