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Land of Love and Drowning
A major debut from an award-winning writer—an epic family saga set against the magic and the rhythms of the Virgin Islands.
In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them.
Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s, Land of Love and Drowning is a novel of love and magic, set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. Uniquely imagined, with echoes of Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and the author's own Caribbean family history, the story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs, Land of Love and Drowning is a gorgeous, vibrant debut by an exciting, prizewinning young writer.
In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them.
Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s, Land of Love and Drowning is a novel of love and magic, set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. Uniquely imagined, with echoes of Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and the author's own Caribbean family history, the story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs, Land of Love and Drowning is a gorgeous, vibrant debut by an exciting, prizewinning young writer.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published July 10, 2014
About the author
Tiphanie Yanique
16 books321 followersTiphanie Yanique is the author of How to Escape from a Leper Colony. She has won the Boston Review Prize in Fiction, a Pushcart Prize a Fulbright in Creative Writing and an Academy of American Poet's Prize. Her work has also appeared in Callaloo, Transition Magazine, American Short Fiction, & the London Magazine. She is an assistant professor of creative writing & Caribbean Literature at Drew University. The Boston Globe listed her as one of sixteen cultural figures to watch out for in 2010."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 800 reviews
October 6, 2018
in the vivid and memorable opening scene of this novel, owen arthur bradshaw rescues a little girl from a potentially dangerous and decidedly undignified situation.
but don't start organizing a parade for him just yet, because he is certainly no hero to little girls, especially when it comes to his daughter eeona, and his behavior towards her has looong term consequences.
this is a multigenerational historical/magical epic taking place in the virgin islands spanning from 1916 through to the 1970s. it follows the bradshaw family through their loves and losses, and the consequences of their family curse. it's all restraint, passion, family, fate, history, secrets, betrayal, and war, as these sprawling books tend to be. it is also a parallel history of the virgin islands, beginning with their transfer from danish to american rule, and the difficulties for those occupying this liminal space: to be a citizen of an owned territory so far removed from the controlling country, this ostensible, nominal belonging while not being truly equal, nor "seen" for what they are; an independent culture with independent values. a trinket in on the mantlepiece of america; a place to roll up on for the novelty of its beaches and local color, disrupting the serenity, putting up fences, and reducing the local people to an insulting backdrop (dear god, that film...)
the story is told through the two bradshaw daughters, eeona and anette, and their half-brother jacob.
eeona is a fascinating character. she is the devastating island beauty whose hubris is in believing too much in her own mythology and hype, denying herself romantic relationships, protecting others from her dangerous beauty, and scorning all the men who don't live up to her deceased daddy, becoming a cold woman. and, man, there is nothing more dramatic than how spectacularly a woman like this who has held herself back from love and indignity will eventually fall.
eeona's got all kinds of secrets, both of her family's past and of the more... corporeal sort, and the keeping of these secrets while denying herself a fully-realized life is a lonely strain.
She was seeing herself running alongside the beach that flanked them now on the left. Seeing herself like a beautiful animal with hair flying behind her. She was galloping. She was something to be feared. She loved herself most like that. She also hated herself most like that. But no matter, because she missed herself most like that.
that passage broke my heart a little - a woman yearning for her childhood freedom and innocence, despite having had a childhood that is pretty horrifying to an outsider.
her sister anette is the complete opposite. she is the embodiment of pure, unrestrained freedom, embracing the romantic possibilities, and ending up with three children by three different men.
Eeona never forget that she a lady from a genteel family. Me? I forget all the time. I laugh with my mouth open wide-wide.
oh yeah, and she speaks in dialect instead of the self-consciously "proper" speech of her sister.
anette is a propulsive character - a force made up of impulse and energy, unapologetic, which is such a contrast to the her almost-ascetic sister.
jacob's contribution to the narrative is primarily his perspective of the american experience - he leaves the islands to join the army and experiences all the racism and resentment of the american south in the 1940s.
he contributes other things, but - spoilers.
overall, it's a strong debut. while the overall "story" is a little disjoined and meandering, the characters alone are strong enough to hold the reader's attention, and the magical elements are nicely employed. read it for the descriptions and the characters - it is terrifically lovely.
come to my blog!
but don't start organizing a parade for him just yet, because he is certainly no hero to little girls, especially when it comes to his daughter eeona, and his behavior towards her has looong term consequences.
this is a multigenerational historical/magical epic taking place in the virgin islands spanning from 1916 through to the 1970s. it follows the bradshaw family through their loves and losses, and the consequences of their family curse. it's all restraint, passion, family, fate, history, secrets, betrayal, and war, as these sprawling books tend to be. it is also a parallel history of the virgin islands, beginning with their transfer from danish to american rule, and the difficulties for those occupying this liminal space: to be a citizen of an owned territory so far removed from the controlling country, this ostensible, nominal belonging while not being truly equal, nor "seen" for what they are; an independent culture with independent values. a trinket in on the mantlepiece of america; a place to roll up on for the novelty of its beaches and local color, disrupting the serenity, putting up fences, and reducing the local people to an insulting backdrop (dear god, that film...)
the story is told through the two bradshaw daughters, eeona and anette, and their half-brother jacob.
eeona is a fascinating character. she is the devastating island beauty whose hubris is in believing too much in her own mythology and hype, denying herself romantic relationships, protecting others from her dangerous beauty, and scorning all the men who don't live up to her deceased daddy, becoming a cold woman. and, man, there is nothing more dramatic than how spectacularly a woman like this who has held herself back from love and indignity will eventually fall.
eeona's got all kinds of secrets, both of her family's past and of the more... corporeal sort, and the keeping of these secrets while denying herself a fully-realized life is a lonely strain.
She was seeing herself running alongside the beach that flanked them now on the left. Seeing herself like a beautiful animal with hair flying behind her. She was galloping. She was something to be feared. She loved herself most like that. She also hated herself most like that. But no matter, because she missed herself most like that.
that passage broke my heart a little - a woman yearning for her childhood freedom and innocence, despite having had a childhood that is pretty horrifying to an outsider.
her sister anette is the complete opposite. she is the embodiment of pure, unrestrained freedom, embracing the romantic possibilities, and ending up with three children by three different men.
Eeona never forget that she a lady from a genteel family. Me? I forget all the time. I laugh with my mouth open wide-wide.
oh yeah, and she speaks in dialect instead of the self-consciously "proper" speech of her sister.
anette is a propulsive character - a force made up of impulse and energy, unapologetic, which is such a contrast to the her almost-ascetic sister.
jacob's contribution to the narrative is primarily his perspective of the american experience - he leaves the islands to join the army and experiences all the racism and resentment of the american south in the 1940s.
he contributes other things, but - spoilers.
overall, it's a strong debut. while the overall "story" is a little disjoined and meandering, the characters alone are strong enough to hold the reader's attention, and the magical elements are nicely employed. read it for the descriptions and the characters - it is terrifically lovely.
come to my blog!
Read
October 6, 2014Folks, I am going to do for you what I wish someone had done for me and warn that there is a very disturbing storyline in this novel.
I was disappointed because I had really been looking forward to this novel set in the Virgin Islands, and had even admired the writing. But the plot was so upsetting that I had to put the book down, and then dreaded coming back to it. In short, I was unable to finish this epic family saga.
I am leaving it unrated because I can't quantify the Yuck factor.
Good quote:
"At this moment it is only the one child and she is in love with her father. It is no large thing that this daughter will, in time, kill Owen Arthur. No large thing at all. Family will always kill you -- some bit by bit, others all at once. It is the love that does it."
I was disappointed because I had really been looking forward to this novel set in the Virgin Islands, and had even admired the writing. But the plot was so upsetting that I had to put the book down, and then dreaded coming back to it. In short, I was unable to finish this epic family saga.
I am leaving it unrated because I can't quantify the Yuck factor.
Good quote:
"At this moment it is only the one child and she is in love with her father. It is no large thing that this daughter will, in time, kill Owen Arthur. No large thing at all. Family will always kill you -- some bit by bit, others all at once. It is the love that does it."
April 11, 2020
Some of my favorite books to find & look at on Goodreads are the divisive ones. Which I categorize as the ones that have an average rating that falls between 3.0-3.5. I call those books divisive because you'll look through some of the reviews accompanying them find readers who felt every which way about the book. You'll see folks DNF'ing it + giving it one star and you'll see those calling it one of their favorite books they've read during their given reading year. Sometimes even calling it a masterpiece.
When it comes to Land of Love and Drowning, Tiphanie Yanique's debut novel & winner of the one of my favorite prizes, The Center For Fiction First Novel Prize, in 2014, I fall on the side of positivity.
LOLAD begins with Owen Arthur Bradshaw. He is married to the lovely Antoinette Bradshaw & they have two daughters together: The dangerously beautiful Eeona Bradshaw (who is the star of this novel), and the future historian, Anette Bradshaw.
Owen Arthur also has a son outside of his marriage, Jacob Esau McKenzie. His birth changes the course of these families lives forever.
LOLAD is a multilayered novel that speaks to many themes. Among which are Freedom, and the specificity of this often generalized concept. How we think we envisioned our freedom perfectly until we receive it & realize it's wrong. It speaks to the concepts of love and belonging via dissections of healthy & unhealthy forms of both. It speaks to ownership. The rightful People owning their land & their country as opposed to the colonizers. Parents owning their children. Men owning women. People regaining ownership of themselves, which they should have never had taken from them. It is also a love letter to the Virgin Islands.
Obviously I recommend this book, but there is very sensitive & disturbing content/themes touched on/dissected (pedophilia, incest, etc.). LOLAD still is, however, a very rich and rewarding novel that I'm glad Yanique spent 11 years working on.
If she spends 11 years per novel then we have 5 more years until her next one. I'm patiently waiting, but hoping it'll arrive sooner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This novel is my 2nd entry in the #10Books#10Decades Challenge.
I hope you all will participate.
Check out this link for more details. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6yyRMdg2ya/
When it comes to Land of Love and Drowning, Tiphanie Yanique's debut novel & winner of the one of my favorite prizes, The Center For Fiction First Novel Prize, in 2014, I fall on the side of positivity.
LOLAD begins with Owen Arthur Bradshaw. He is married to the lovely Antoinette Bradshaw & they have two daughters together: The dangerously beautiful Eeona Bradshaw (who is the star of this novel), and the future historian, Anette Bradshaw.
Owen Arthur also has a son outside of his marriage, Jacob Esau McKenzie. His birth changes the course of these families lives forever.
LOLAD is a multilayered novel that speaks to many themes. Among which are Freedom, and the specificity of this often generalized concept. How we think we envisioned our freedom perfectly until we receive it & realize it's wrong. It speaks to the concepts of love and belonging via dissections of healthy & unhealthy forms of both. It speaks to ownership. The rightful People owning their land & their country as opposed to the colonizers. Parents owning their children. Men owning women. People regaining ownership of themselves, which they should have never had taken from them. It is also a love letter to the Virgin Islands.
Obviously I recommend this book, but there is very sensitive & disturbing content/themes touched on/dissected (pedophilia, incest, etc.). LOLAD still is, however, a very rich and rewarding novel that I'm glad Yanique spent 11 years working on.
If she spends 11 years per novel then we have 5 more years until her next one. I'm patiently waiting, but hoping it'll arrive sooner.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This novel is my 2nd entry in the #10Books#10Decades Challenge.
I hope you all will participate.
Check out this link for more details. https://www.instagram.com/p/B6yyRMdg2ya/
January 21, 2016
A-Z Challenge AND PopSugar Challenge with Karly and Jess
A book set somewhere you have always wanted to visit - Land of Love and Drowning
Y = Yanique, Tiphanie
2 stars
I don't have much to say about this one. I didn't like it at all. The writing is good so a bumped it up a star but the storyline just didn't captivate me and the icky beginning just wouldn't go away. The two main characters, sisters, orphaned at a young age are shallow and vane and what emotions they do have are over the top and borderline crazy. Plus there is a lot of repetitiveness. Possibly a better review to come, but maybe not. Glad to be done with it.
August 28, 2014
This is one of the most important books I've ever read. I was enlightened on the history of the US Virgin Islands in a unique and mind-bending way while being told an amazing story. The island culture is interwoven in this narrative rich in magical realism, social struggle, American history, and immense beauty.
These universal issues are dealt with in the story of two sisters who view the world through completely different eyes. Eeona, the eldest, is dangerously beautiful, damaged from an unhealthy relationship with her deceased father, and desperate to hold on to her high position in society following her parent's untimely deaths. Annette has a much different experience. She is years younger, barely remembers her parents, and only cares about living life to its fullest. She says and acts without thought of repercussions, and falls in and out of many relationships.
You will experience wild swings of emotion with this book. I was forced to leave my American perceptions of certain subjects at the door and see it through the lens of a different culture. Infidelity, incest, and abortions are just the tip of the iceberg. While obviously a depressing subject matter, there is a non-judgmental and bizarre sense of logic in this writing. It sounds crazy and I'm not condoning any of the above, but reading this will shift some of the usual thought processes.
There is discomfort in the way Americans gradually take over the beaches and island for tourism purposes and rum. It breaks your heart to see the discrimination you know is coming to people who are blindsided because the only exposure they have to American culture is the fun entertainment they see on TV. One of the characters unwittingly travels to America excitedly looking to sew costumes and design clothing only to find she is an unsuitable "negro" and then the Depression hits. As tragic as this is, you don't want to turn away. You want more stories.
The book flows smoothly with many chapters from various perspectives. At times I had to take a few minutes in between to soak in all the information that had been thrown at me. This was a good thing, as it packed many punches for a 355 page novel.
It took Yanique eleven years off and on to complete Land of Love and Drowning. It would take me at least that long to complete a worthy review, and will be much much longer before it's memory fades. Just go read it please. Even if you don't love it, at least you will have learned about a different culture and feel like a more well rounded person.
These universal issues are dealt with in the story of two sisters who view the world through completely different eyes. Eeona, the eldest, is dangerously beautiful, damaged from an unhealthy relationship with her deceased father, and desperate to hold on to her high position in society following her parent's untimely deaths. Annette has a much different experience. She is years younger, barely remembers her parents, and only cares about living life to its fullest. She says and acts without thought of repercussions, and falls in and out of many relationships.
You will experience wild swings of emotion with this book. I was forced to leave my American perceptions of certain subjects at the door and see it through the lens of a different culture. Infidelity, incest, and abortions are just the tip of the iceberg. While obviously a depressing subject matter, there is a non-judgmental and bizarre sense of logic in this writing. It sounds crazy and I'm not condoning any of the above, but reading this will shift some of the usual thought processes.
There is discomfort in the way Americans gradually take over the beaches and island for tourism purposes and rum. It breaks your heart to see the discrimination you know is coming to people who are blindsided because the only exposure they have to American culture is the fun entertainment they see on TV. One of the characters unwittingly travels to America excitedly looking to sew costumes and design clothing only to find she is an unsuitable "negro" and then the Depression hits. As tragic as this is, you don't want to turn away. You want more stories.
The book flows smoothly with many chapters from various perspectives. At times I had to take a few minutes in between to soak in all the information that had been thrown at me. This was a good thing, as it packed many punches for a 355 page novel.
It took Yanique eleven years off and on to complete Land of Love and Drowning. It would take me at least that long to complete a worthy review, and will be much much longer before it's memory fades. Just go read it please. Even if you don't love it, at least you will have learned about a different culture and feel like a more well rounded person.
August 4, 2018
Land of Love and Drowning is a novel set in the beautiful US Virgin Islands, filled with lilting, poetic sentences, wonderful metaphors and descriptions. However, the lush, lyrical writing does nothing to save a plot that is convoluted and ill-conceived at best. The characters in this family saga are terribly flat, and the arc of the story is ruined by repetitive writing and a constant foreshadowing of events that ultimately leaves the novel bereft of any dramatic tension. I never once felt that I was immersed in a scene; the author preferred to tell rather than show. I wanted to like this but, alas, wasn’t the novel for me.
July 19, 2017
This book is so mesmerizing. You know that an author is a great story-teller when, despite the fact that you don't necessarily understand or feel comfortable with the story in its entirety, you don't want to put the book down or rush through all of it. Tiphanie Yanique's writing is captivating and evocative, and also disturbing at times.
"Land of Love and Drowning" is a story about a family and a community undergoing pivotal changes, the full consequences of which won't be understood until everyone is knee deep in it all. It's also about how the actions of parents influence the destinies of their children, and how a father can affect the way his daughter will choose to love and be loved as she grows older.
In 1917, the Danish Virgin Islands have just become the United States Virgin Islands. This event brings about widespread hope and wonder, but it is a double-edged sword. Meanwhile, in St. Thomas the Bradshaw family's secret desires are all adding up to inevitable destruction. The resulting story is a magical blend of history, racial issues, war, family curses, ill-fated love, and Virgin Island folklore.
NOTE: The first few chapters deal with incest and are uncomfortable to read, as are the other times that the subject is brought up, but when you get through that you're in for a unique and enchanting story.
Yanique's characters are fully fleshed, complex individuals with distinct personalities (with the exception of Gertie, a character who is often mentioned but remains 1D). This book is not a light read, but rather a densely detailed multi-generational family saga spanning over half a century. It is focused mainly on the bewitching orphan Bradshaw sisters, Eona and Anette, as they try to carve out their lives on their own terms while the world surrounding them rapidly transforms. While the sisters are complete opposites, they have in common the fact that neither seems able to get what they want the most despite the advantage their beauty affords them.
Magical realism is adeptly incorporated into the story, the lush island setting is strong, and the social structure in this setting is interesting, especially as American realities begin to spill over into the islands.
I will say that the point of view switches around a lot, and at times I couldn't tell who was speaking, although Anette's defiant St. Thomas vernacular is easily distinguishable. I actually looked forward to Anette's chapters because they are so full-bodied and seem to convey a fuller range of emotion than the other narrators are capable of. Needless to say, Anette is my favorite character.
More than the actual story, I liked the author's prose and the way layers of the story unfolded. At times the writing was a little heavy, or I couldn't quite understand what was going on (for example: the spider man episode), but at those times I just sat back and enjoyed the way the sentences are colorfully strung together. This book is full of life and mysteries and in short, it's magical.
If you like this book you may also like "Til the Well Runs Dry" by Lauren Francis-Sharma.
"Land of Love and Drowning" is a story about a family and a community undergoing pivotal changes, the full consequences of which won't be understood until everyone is knee deep in it all. It's also about how the actions of parents influence the destinies of their children, and how a father can affect the way his daughter will choose to love and be loved as she grows older.
In 1917, the Danish Virgin Islands have just become the United States Virgin Islands. This event brings about widespread hope and wonder, but it is a double-edged sword. Meanwhile, in St. Thomas the Bradshaw family's secret desires are all adding up to inevitable destruction. The resulting story is a magical blend of history, racial issues, war, family curses, ill-fated love, and Virgin Island folklore.
NOTE: The first few chapters deal with incest and are uncomfortable to read, as are the other times that the subject is brought up, but when you get through that you're in for a unique and enchanting story.
Yanique's characters are fully fleshed, complex individuals with distinct personalities (with the exception of Gertie, a character who is often mentioned but remains 1D). This book is not a light read, but rather a densely detailed multi-generational family saga spanning over half a century. It is focused mainly on the bewitching orphan Bradshaw sisters, Eona and Anette, as they try to carve out their lives on their own terms while the world surrounding them rapidly transforms. While the sisters are complete opposites, they have in common the fact that neither seems able to get what they want the most despite the advantage their beauty affords them.
Magical realism is adeptly incorporated into the story, the lush island setting is strong, and the social structure in this setting is interesting, especially as American realities begin to spill over into the islands.
I will say that the point of view switches around a lot, and at times I couldn't tell who was speaking, although Anette's defiant St. Thomas vernacular is easily distinguishable. I actually looked forward to Anette's chapters because they are so full-bodied and seem to convey a fuller range of emotion than the other narrators are capable of. Needless to say, Anette is my favorite character.
More than the actual story, I liked the author's prose and the way layers of the story unfolded. At times the writing was a little heavy, or I couldn't quite understand what was going on (for example: the spider man episode), but at those times I just sat back and enjoyed the way the sentences are colorfully strung together. This book is full of life and mysteries and in short, it's magical.
If you like this book you may also like "Til the Well Runs Dry" by Lauren Francis-Sharma.
August 1, 2014
This book stumped me. It’s a bit of an anomaly – a highly literary novel, a fable-come-to-life, a political commentary, a family saga, a love story. Frankly, I just don’t know what to make of it.
What compelled me to continue reading was the brilliance I saw in the author’s ability to write in metaphor and weave symbolism and myth throughout. Clearly, Tipahnie Yanique is an accomplished writer with prestigious poetry and literary awards to her credit.
Poetry is, after all, about telling a story without telling it directly – a way of speaking in metaphor, a way of dazzling with sparse words to conjure images and concepts that cause the reader to bend her own views of the commonplace (the language was, indeed, concise and not flowery). This poetic lace the author wove exceptionally well (and I will always be in awe of poets for this gift).
Yet… the story fell short for me, overall. Perhaps because there were so many things being said and symbolized – so many metaphors and myths – that I’m not sure of the story’s intent. The storyline, itself, seemed anorexic, yet also somehow seemed to lose itself in so many lessons: of politics, love, magic, and desire.
In this tale of two perilously beautiful sisters growing up on the US Virgin Islands from the mid 1900s to the 1970s, I wasn’t sure if the point of the story was to illustrate the danger of women being ‘owned’ by men. Or maybe it was to illustrate the varied types of history that swirl around us to make us who we are. Or perhaps it was a story about the natural desire for freedom, and the oppression that faces humanity in so many ways (from the book: ““…Besides, an old maid and a free woman might be the same dangerous witchlike thing. It was just a matter of choosing the correct way to view things.”) Or maybe it was about the power of story and parables, as the book says, “… It is how they interpret the story that will make all the difference.” Or a love story.
To me, the novel just didn’t have a strong enough story “core” to effectively anchor all of those metaphors and symbols (and characters and themes) into something unputdownable.
This opinion could be, perhaps, my reaction to other elements of the author’s style. The story is told with much foretelling. You will know the upcoming collisions and difficulties in advance because the author forecasts everything that will happen through the point of view of a character, later in life, looking back on the story of her childhood. Stylistically, this method of forecasting future events instead of letting them unfold didn’t really compel me to continue reading.
As well, the book is filled with point-of-view and tense shifts, even within singular chapters. Toward the end of the book, a new style appears whereby a character interjects as if he is talking right to the reader (“May I interject” says one character. Another time he says, “Listen close.") These techniques often threw me off kilter, though I suspect they may be the very reason this book is likely to go on to acclaim – for its edgy literary-ness.
Beyond that, it should be warned that a recurring theme (and probably the most prevalent to me) is incest. I’m still perplexed and unsure if the author was trying to imply the prevalence of incest on the small islands or …? But it is no exaggeration to say that nearly every male character in this book had an attraction to the beauty of small girls.
I guess my quibble, if there is one – despite my deep admiration for the literary display (the author illustrates fabulous use of the double entendre for the daughter, Youme’s name, -- nicknamed “Me.”) – is that I didn’t know what this book was ‘about’ and didn’t quite connect in the ways I hoped to with the characters.
I suspect there were a lot of things, so brilliant in metaphor and symbol, that they went right over my head. Maybe, in the end, this book was too smart for me. And that’s okay. This novel offers excellent commentary on American politics and the taking of the Virgin Islands. It’s a story of men disappearing and running away from women. And women running away from men; it’s about the pull and tug of attraction and repulsion between the sexes. Or is it?
For those who adore highly literary fiction (where nothing is quite as it seems), this might be your favorite read this year.
I won this uncorrected e-galley from the publisher.
What compelled me to continue reading was the brilliance I saw in the author’s ability to write in metaphor and weave symbolism and myth throughout. Clearly, Tipahnie Yanique is an accomplished writer with prestigious poetry and literary awards to her credit.
Poetry is, after all, about telling a story without telling it directly – a way of speaking in metaphor, a way of dazzling with sparse words to conjure images and concepts that cause the reader to bend her own views of the commonplace (the language was, indeed, concise and not flowery). This poetic lace the author wove exceptionally well (and I will always be in awe of poets for this gift).
Yet… the story fell short for me, overall. Perhaps because there were so many things being said and symbolized – so many metaphors and myths – that I’m not sure of the story’s intent. The storyline, itself, seemed anorexic, yet also somehow seemed to lose itself in so many lessons: of politics, love, magic, and desire.
In this tale of two perilously beautiful sisters growing up on the US Virgin Islands from the mid 1900s to the 1970s, I wasn’t sure if the point of the story was to illustrate the danger of women being ‘owned’ by men. Or maybe it was to illustrate the varied types of history that swirl around us to make us who we are. Or perhaps it was a story about the natural desire for freedom, and the oppression that faces humanity in so many ways (from the book: ““…Besides, an old maid and a free woman might be the same dangerous witchlike thing. It was just a matter of choosing the correct way to view things.”) Or maybe it was about the power of story and parables, as the book says, “… It is how they interpret the story that will make all the difference.” Or a love story.
To me, the novel just didn’t have a strong enough story “core” to effectively anchor all of those metaphors and symbols (and characters and themes) into something unputdownable.
This opinion could be, perhaps, my reaction to other elements of the author’s style. The story is told with much foretelling. You will know the upcoming collisions and difficulties in advance because the author forecasts everything that will happen through the point of view of a character, later in life, looking back on the story of her childhood. Stylistically, this method of forecasting future events instead of letting them unfold didn’t really compel me to continue reading.
As well, the book is filled with point-of-view and tense shifts, even within singular chapters. Toward the end of the book, a new style appears whereby a character interjects as if he is talking right to the reader (“May I interject” says one character. Another time he says, “Listen close.") These techniques often threw me off kilter, though I suspect they may be the very reason this book is likely to go on to acclaim – for its edgy literary-ness.
Beyond that, it should be warned that a recurring theme (and probably the most prevalent to me) is incest. I’m still perplexed and unsure if the author was trying to imply the prevalence of incest on the small islands or …? But it is no exaggeration to say that nearly every male character in this book had an attraction to the beauty of small girls.
I guess my quibble, if there is one – despite my deep admiration for the literary display (the author illustrates fabulous use of the double entendre for the daughter, Youme’s name, -- nicknamed “Me.”) – is that I didn’t know what this book was ‘about’ and didn’t quite connect in the ways I hoped to with the characters.
I suspect there were a lot of things, so brilliant in metaphor and symbol, that they went right over my head. Maybe, in the end, this book was too smart for me. And that’s okay. This novel offers excellent commentary on American politics and the taking of the Virgin Islands. It’s a story of men disappearing and running away from women. And women running away from men; it’s about the pull and tug of attraction and repulsion between the sexes. Or is it?
For those who adore highly literary fiction (where nothing is quite as it seems), this might be your favorite read this year.
I won this uncorrected e-galley from the publisher.
August 14, 2014
I suppose this novel can be described as a love story, a history lesson, and a magical tale set amid the beautiful, yet seductive, Caribbean landscape. It focuses on the life and times of two sisters and their half-brother as they cope with abandonment, love, and fate. Early on, they grapple with the newness and unknowns bestowed upon St. Thomas as part of the U.S. Virgins Islands and struggle with the concepts of belonging, freedom and equality which are implied entitlements that surely come with the transfer. Freedom, equality, and a sense of belonging are haunting themes that recur throughout the novel in each of the central characters’ plots.
In an era where social standing and family name reflected status and commanded respect, the beautiful, elder sister (Eeona) attempts to cling to their social standing and possessions after the untimely death of their parents leave them destitute and her single. What follows is decades of longing for her freedom instead of the burden of mothering a much younger and free-spirited sister (Anette). Eeona’s vanity and desire to rise above her station causes her to dismiss numerous suitors leaving her loveless and alone. Where Eeona is the island’s ice queen, Anette is the sensuous red-head, whose warm, fiery spirit seemingly accepts the kindness of any man who loves her, eventually birthing a child from three of them. She fails to marry her true love because Eeona and his mother expressly forbid it; however a daughter is born shortly after the thwarted nuptials. Abandoned by his father when he was an infant, their half-brother enters manhood during WWII and battles the enemy and Jim Crow in the segregated American South. He eventually becomes a doctor and returns to the island to practice.
To comment further could spoil the plot, so I’ll simply mention that a novel such as this wouldn’t be complete without its fair share of secrets (which everyone seems to know except those affected by it), heartbreak, struggle, folklore, and taboo/perversion. According to the Author’s Note, some aspects of the novel were biographical, or at least may have been inspired by the lives, loves, and adventures of her grandparents. Kudos for her to memorialize them in her debut novel!
In an era where social standing and family name reflected status and commanded respect, the beautiful, elder sister (Eeona) attempts to cling to their social standing and possessions after the untimely death of their parents leave them destitute and her single. What follows is decades of longing for her freedom instead of the burden of mothering a much younger and free-spirited sister (Anette). Eeona’s vanity and desire to rise above her station causes her to dismiss numerous suitors leaving her loveless and alone. Where Eeona is the island’s ice queen, Anette is the sensuous red-head, whose warm, fiery spirit seemingly accepts the kindness of any man who loves her, eventually birthing a child from three of them. She fails to marry her true love because Eeona and his mother expressly forbid it; however a daughter is born shortly after the thwarted nuptials. Abandoned by his father when he was an infant, their half-brother enters manhood during WWII and battles the enemy and Jim Crow in the segregated American South. He eventually becomes a doctor and returns to the island to practice.
To comment further could spoil the plot, so I’ll simply mention that a novel such as this wouldn’t be complete without its fair share of secrets (which everyone seems to know except those affected by it), heartbreak, struggle, folklore, and taboo/perversion. According to the Author’s Note, some aspects of the novel were biographical, or at least may have been inspired by the lives, loves, and adventures of her grandparents. Kudos for her to memorialize them in her debut novel!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2021
Set in the US Virgin Islands from the early 1900s to 1970s, this is the story of Bradshaw sisters Eeona and Anette, and their half-brother Jacob. When they are orphaned, they must make their own way in life. We follow their lives, loves, and struggles to deal with the many changes taking place in the islands at the time.
The author does a wonderful job of providing each character a unique voice. Eeona is the more formally educated. Anette communicates in the dialect of the islands. An omniscient narrator occasionally breaks in to provide commentary. Yanique mixes in elements of local folklore, obeah, and magical realism. These elements are subtle and do not overpower the narrative. The Virgin Islands are beautifully drawn, and the vivid sense of place is one of the highlights of the book.
This story is not solely a family saga. It also examines issues such as colonialism, racism, classism, tourism, and identity. I think the reader needs to be aware going in that the content includes incest. It is integral to the plot, and this portion is finished early in the book. Based on the author’s family background, this is an imaginative story grounded in the Virgin Islands’ culture and history.
The author does a wonderful job of providing each character a unique voice. Eeona is the more formally educated. Anette communicates in the dialect of the islands. An omniscient narrator occasionally breaks in to provide commentary. Yanique mixes in elements of local folklore, obeah, and magical realism. These elements are subtle and do not overpower the narrative. The Virgin Islands are beautifully drawn, and the vivid sense of place is one of the highlights of the book.
This story is not solely a family saga. It also examines issues such as colonialism, racism, classism, tourism, and identity. I think the reader needs to be aware going in that the content includes incest. It is integral to the plot, and this portion is finished early in the book. Based on the author’s family background, this is an imaginative story grounded in the Virgin Islands’ culture and history.
October 23, 2014
This was a 3.5 read for me but rounded up because of the author's unique approach to the storyline.
A sumptuous tale of two sisters and their half-brother entangled by magic, myth, and the pull of memory tinged with illicit love set in the Virgin Islands. This intergenerational tale covers the years 1916 when the Danish West Indies was transferred to the United States to the 1970s as orphaned sisters Eeona and Annette, often at odds with each other, forge their identities from their legacies commingled with “Americanisms” as half-brother Jacob navigates the muddy waters of lineage secrets. I liked how the use of magical realism gives the story a more unique feeling as it builds tension and moods as readers wonder if the characters decisions are of free will or the pull of the destinies. The transition between first person narrators and the third person narrator seemed choppy at times but I enjoyed how the third person narrator gave their part the feel of oral storytelling. I appreciated how the author effectively blended history, folklore, and family memoir into a spellbinding story. I recommend to readers of historical fiction, magical realism, and Caribbean history.
A sumptuous tale of two sisters and their half-brother entangled by magic, myth, and the pull of memory tinged with illicit love set in the Virgin Islands. This intergenerational tale covers the years 1916 when the Danish West Indies was transferred to the United States to the 1970s as orphaned sisters Eeona and Annette, often at odds with each other, forge their identities from their legacies commingled with “Americanisms” as half-brother Jacob navigates the muddy waters of lineage secrets. I liked how the use of magical realism gives the story a more unique feeling as it builds tension and moods as readers wonder if the characters decisions are of free will or the pull of the destinies. The transition between first person narrators and the third person narrator seemed choppy at times but I enjoyed how the third person narrator gave their part the feel of oral storytelling. I appreciated how the author effectively blended history, folklore, and family memoir into a spellbinding story. I recommend to readers of historical fiction, magical realism, and Caribbean history.
June 21, 2020
Lovely and mysterious, a story about family legacy and island history, fate, desire and destiny. Two sisters, the fabulously beautiful Eeone and the more human redheaded younger sister Anette, whose mother, Antoinette, had tried to unseat in the womb, grow up in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands--the daughters of a black sea captain. The relationships on the islands are tightly entwined, and this family more than most, as each generation tries to avoid and yet repeats the dangers of the last, or suffers from the not knowing. A great deal of the book's major events are telegraphed with foreshadowing, which can be seen as a strength or a weakness--in the manner of folk-tales and myths, people are adequately warned and yet never really get the message in this tightly knit community with long memories and more than a touch of the uncanny.
"
"
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
April 12, 2024dnf @ 6%, content warning:
November 27, 2014
This novel may be one of my favorites of the year. I think the great thing about this novel is how it melds together great writing, history and magical realism into a beautiful piece of art! I will warn you that there is a very disturbing plot line that may be difficult for some readers but I thought it was an interesting aspect of the novel that helped me to better understand some of the characters. I didn't find it in any way traumatizing but I wanted to mention it so you weren't surprised by it.
I knew next to nothing about the Virgin Islands before reading this novel. Yanique did a wonderful job of bringing place alive with this book. Her amazing writing coupled with a beautiful and fascinating place made for a magical reading experience.
The characters were fascinating ... flawed and difficult to understand sometimes. But, the interplay of character, place and magic makes for a mesmerizing and seductive reading experience. The plot is very complex and difficult to describe so I'm not going to even try to do it justice. However, I think that the plot was well done given the intricacies of the plot. As a reader, I felt the plot flowed well and really helped tell the story well.
All in all, I highly recommend this novel as I found it to be fascinating and well written! It's what good literature is ... a well written, fascinating story about truly interesting characters!
** NOTE: I'd probably give this one 4.5 stars rather than 4
I knew next to nothing about the Virgin Islands before reading this novel. Yanique did a wonderful job of bringing place alive with this book. Her amazing writing coupled with a beautiful and fascinating place made for a magical reading experience.
The characters were fascinating ... flawed and difficult to understand sometimes. But, the interplay of character, place and magic makes for a mesmerizing and seductive reading experience. The plot is very complex and difficult to describe so I'm not going to even try to do it justice. However, I think that the plot was well done given the intricacies of the plot. As a reader, I felt the plot flowed well and really helped tell the story well.
All in all, I highly recommend this novel as I found it to be fascinating and well written! It's what good literature is ... a well written, fascinating story about truly interesting characters!
** NOTE: I'd probably give this one 4.5 stars rather than 4
Read
December 9, 2014This novel knocked the breath out of me when I first read it, and I’ve been thinking about it and returning to it for months since. Through a story about two sisters who lose their parents in a shipwreck and are left to navigate life largely on their own, Yanique shows us the Virgin Islands in the early twentieth century, a nation in transition viewed through the lens of a family bound by magic and curses and the simple tragedy of being human. This is a book that makes its own gravity; Yanique’s gorgeous sentences and captivating characters took hold of me and refused to let go, while the ideas they challenged me to explore demanded that I read slowly and paused often. This is a book about family and history and sex and culture and the hunger for a life that is bigger, richer, fuller, longer. It’s about how we are beautiful, and how we are broken. This is a book that does what great books are meant to do, and it’s one that reminded me why I read and why books matter. -Rebecca Joines Schinsky
From Best Books of 2014: http://bookriot.com/2014/12/02/riot-r...
From Best Books of 2014: http://bookriot.com/2014/12/02/riot-r...
January 29, 2016
Being from the Caribbean I am always interested to read books set in the Caribbean or written by a Caribbean author so when I saw that “Land of Love and Drowning” was set in the Caribbean, naturally I was interested.
I am not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand the plot was interesting but remained flat the entire time. On the other hand, Yanique is a really great writer that holds your interest even with a flat storyline. I really wanted to love this book and write an amazing gushing review but I finished the book feeling like I missed something.
I am not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand the plot was interesting but remained flat the entire time. On the other hand, Yanique is a really great writer that holds your interest even with a flat storyline. I really wanted to love this book and write an amazing gushing review but I finished the book feeling like I missed something.
July 6, 2023
A twisted family tree as metaphor for the colonization of the Virgin Islands with generations of vivid characters suffering from the ebb and flow of yearning for freedom yet craving belonging, in and out in perpetuity like a tide.
This is not an easy read, exploring abusive relationships in many forms. A family cursed, broken in ways that cannot be healed and twisted by secrets, shame, and pride.
But it’s also a story of resilience. Community and survival. Hope and magic and the places we call home, no matter who’s flag flies overhead.
A book that takes its time to reveal the pearl inside, an extended effort that bears fruit.
“Without food, Frank felt high and he felt that he knew, really knew, that his women didn't just give way to slice of knife or wall of water or ceasing of a beating heart. They last. They rise like volcanoes, like a pustule on the skin. They explode and do their cleansing damage.” (360)
Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse, pedophillia, incest, misogyny, animal cruelty, abortion and miscarriage, vomit
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This is not an easy read, exploring abusive relationships in many forms. A family cursed, broken in ways that cannot be healed and twisted by secrets, shame, and pride.
But it’s also a story of resilience. Community and survival. Hope and magic and the places we call home, no matter who’s flag flies overhead.
A book that takes its time to reveal the pearl inside, an extended effort that bears fruit.
“Without food, Frank felt high and he felt that he knew, really knew, that his women didn't just give way to slice of knife or wall of water or ceasing of a beating heart. They last. They rise like volcanoes, like a pustule on the skin. They explode and do their cleansing damage.” (360)
Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse, pedophillia, incest, misogyny, animal cruelty, abortion and miscarriage, vomit
You can find me on...
Youtube | Instagram | TikTok
You can join our book club over on Patreon...
PBB Book Club
November 8, 2015
An epic family saga that will definitely appeal to Marquez lovers, especially those who liked his "One Hundred Years of Solitude".
(warning: this review might include a little bits of spoilers)
Through different individuals and families, Yanique manages to sew the story and history of the Virgin Island, its historic convergence to Britain/US, and how that affected the lives of its inhabitants a generation after another.
One of the most influential islands in this story is Anegada (the drowned land) and the inspiration behind the name, and it will prove to be the most effective and pivotal point of the novel.
This novel deals with, The Bradshaws and the Mckenzies, two of the main families of this story and focuses through the first part on their lives through the first major political transition the islands will be going through, from Denmark to the US and England. The Bradshaws, with an ambitious mother who kills her children and a father who desires his daughter and two sisters. The father also has a mistress, Rebekah Mckenzie, and he has a son from her, Jacob Esau, who will prove to be a really important part of the girls' lives afterwards.
The book's narration travels between the two sisters, rarely other characters, and mainly one of the old grandmothers of the island" through most of the book.
Through the second part tragedies like war and death happens and affect Annette and Eonna, the two sisters, who grow up alone. Eonna takes care of her sister and she always remembers her relationship with her father, which proves to be the most memorable aspect of Eonna's life.
The relationships in the book are messed up (Eonna and her father, Anette and Jacob, Eonna and Kweku ...etc). Every relationship is wrong and yet the beautiful writing makes you wonder, how can I love and hate this relationship at the same time?
Events take a big dramatic turns through the novel for Anette and Eonna, but the magical realism of the story adds more to the mystery. Anette's power of "knowing", Eonna's magical hair, Rebekah's obeah power ... and so on.
With the third part comes another dilemma Anette goes through, her men! Ronnie (the obeying man) who couldn't hold on to her, who gave her Ronalda, Jacob (her wrongful love) the one shell love forever even if she shouldn't, who gave her Eve Youme, and Franky (her husband) because to her was nothing else but a husband who bought her a house and gave her Frank. Through this it appears that Eonna and Annette differ deeply when it comes to love, as Eonna will always be in love with her father, even though she had her share of men but couldn't settle down, despite men still desired her after long years.
The forbidden love and its consequences made me wonder about something, Youme's "silver hair" is a sign of sin as Eonna says, because of the nature between Jacob and Annette, so how about Eonna?
Through the upcoming parts, we see more Americans taking over the Islands, and more islanders going over to America. One of the things I didn't like is that I felt that Ronalda was somehow neglected, as Frank and Youme had their own shinning points, it was as if Ronalda was sent to the US to vanish. I feel bad because I liked the little bits where she thinks of her "three fathers" and their uniforms and what each uniform means.
This book combines political movements and mythical stories in an everyday way that makes it hard to believe it. The fables of the cowfoot women and the deune were marvelous and I can't explain enough how I loved the chapters set in Anegada.
The description of colors and atmospheres, of feeling and everything is magnificent. I have to admit that Anette's way of talking was a bit hard to read, but I got used to it, and it was special. The ending was just what I wanted.
This is a book that I will keep thinking of for a very long time.
(warning: this review might include a little bits of spoilers)
Through different individuals and families, Yanique manages to sew the story and history of the Virgin Island, its historic convergence to Britain/US, and how that affected the lives of its inhabitants a generation after another.
One of the most influential islands in this story is Anegada (the drowned land) and the inspiration behind the name, and it will prove to be the most effective and pivotal point of the novel.
This novel deals with, The Bradshaws and the Mckenzies, two of the main families of this story and focuses through the first part on their lives through the first major political transition the islands will be going through, from Denmark to the US and England. The Bradshaws, with an ambitious mother who kills her children and a father who desires his daughter and two sisters. The father also has a mistress, Rebekah Mckenzie, and he has a son from her, Jacob Esau, who will prove to be a really important part of the girls' lives afterwards.
The book's narration travels between the two sisters, rarely other characters, and mainly one of the old grandmothers of the island" through most of the book.
Through the second part tragedies like war and death happens and affect Annette and Eonna, the two sisters, who grow up alone. Eonna takes care of her sister and she always remembers her relationship with her father, which proves to be the most memorable aspect of Eonna's life.
The relationships in the book are messed up (Eonna and her father, Anette and Jacob, Eonna and Kweku ...etc). Every relationship is wrong and yet the beautiful writing makes you wonder, how can I love and hate this relationship at the same time?
Events take a big dramatic turns through the novel for Anette and Eonna, but the magical realism of the story adds more to the mystery. Anette's power of "knowing", Eonna's magical hair, Rebekah's obeah power ... and so on.
With the third part comes another dilemma Anette goes through, her men! Ronnie (the obeying man) who couldn't hold on to her, who gave her Ronalda, Jacob (her wrongful love) the one shell love forever even if she shouldn't, who gave her Eve Youme, and Franky (her husband) because to her was nothing else but a husband who bought her a house and gave her Frank. Through this it appears that Eonna and Annette differ deeply when it comes to love, as Eonna will always be in love with her father, even though she had her share of men but couldn't settle down, despite men still desired her after long years.
The forbidden love and its consequences made me wonder about something, Youme's "silver hair" is a sign of sin as Eonna says, because of the nature between Jacob and Annette, so how about Eonna?
Through the upcoming parts, we see more Americans taking over the Islands, and more islanders going over to America. One of the things I didn't like is that I felt that Ronalda was somehow neglected, as Frank and Youme had their own shinning points, it was as if Ronalda was sent to the US to vanish. I feel bad because I liked the little bits where she thinks of her "three fathers" and their uniforms and what each uniform means.
This book combines political movements and mythical stories in an everyday way that makes it hard to believe it. The fables of the cowfoot women and the deune were marvelous and I can't explain enough how I loved the chapters set in Anegada.
The description of colors and atmospheres, of feeling and everything is magnificent. I have to admit that Anette's way of talking was a bit hard to read, but I got used to it, and it was special. The ending was just what I wanted.
This is a book that I will keep thinking of for a very long time.
December 3, 2014
My first impression is I enjoyed the author's writing style. She told of events and happenings as though she just wanted to sneak things in on the reader. You will find yourself going back over sentences, and saying "what?" Or "damn!" She justs puts it on the page and refrains from making a big dramatic deal, and just moves on to the next sentence. I found that style quite engaging. The book makes use of the U.S. Virgin Islands as almost a character in this novel. That was clever and not always easy to pull off in a novel. Tiphanie Yanique hails from the US Virgin Islands, and her love of her home is on display throughout the novel.
There are some strange things and stranger people in this novel of family, love and loss. There is enough balance between good and bad men, so it avoids the trap of all the men are horrible and just bad individuals. In fact, it is the women characters that come off, for the most part as seriously flawed. From wishing terrible things upon "loved" ones to terminating pregnancies unilaterally.
Although the prose is dynamic, the pacing is average, and just when you think your going to hit 5th gear, it shifts back to 2nd. So you never get that exhilarating feeling of going way past the speed limit. This is the major failing of the novel. And, the most frustrating element in this book, is a situation that needs to be clearly communicated, to the parties involved and it never really is. The two characters have to deduce the truth of the matter, when it would have only taken one sentence to say what distinctly needed to be said. Perhaps it was a plot device to keep the reader engaged, but for me it was a discouraging fail.
So although I will definitely read her next offering; prose and style not withstanding, overall this one rates just ok.
There are some strange things and stranger people in this novel of family, love and loss. There is enough balance between good and bad men, so it avoids the trap of all the men are horrible and just bad individuals. In fact, it is the women characters that come off, for the most part as seriously flawed. From wishing terrible things upon "loved" ones to terminating pregnancies unilaterally.
Although the prose is dynamic, the pacing is average, and just when you think your going to hit 5th gear, it shifts back to 2nd. So you never get that exhilarating feeling of going way past the speed limit. This is the major failing of the novel. And, the most frustrating element in this book, is a situation that needs to be clearly communicated, to the parties involved and it never really is. The two characters have to deduce the truth of the matter, when it would have only taken one sentence to say what distinctly needed to be said. Perhaps it was a plot device to keep the reader engaged, but for me it was a discouraging fail.
So although I will definitely read her next offering; prose and style not withstanding, overall this one rates just ok.
July 18, 2014
If you are any sort of reader you know that there are different categories of books. There's easy, light reads that can be finished in an afternoon, there's tense, gripping reads that won't release you until you turn the last page - and even then, you struggle with moving on from them for several days to weeks. And then there's the type of book that weaves a spell around you. It slowly entrances you in a way that hides the entrancement and, when you finish it, you end up dreaming about it and feeling caught in an otherwordly-type of spell. That's what I've been doing today. I finished LAND OF LOVE AND DROWNING by Tiphanie Yanique last night and I dreamed I was in her world all through the night and woke up in a daze this morning.
Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on July 27, 2014.
Read the rest of this review at The Lost Entwife on July 27, 2014.
December 29, 2016
There was something spellbinding about the setting that, once ensnaring me, refused to let go. It's not a book where the characters or story will win you over, but one that feels as though you're living inside its pages all the same.
February 16, 2015
in the author's notes at the end of the novel, tiphanie yanique references the quote from Derek Walcott, used earlier in the novel to begin a new section. when asked “What makes caribbean literature unique?” walcott’s full reply: “It may seem so simple to say that it is sea. But it is the sea”. it's an apt epigraph for this book, a caribbean saga anchored by the sea. also in the author's notes, yanique shares some personal background - her own family history appears to be very present in this, her debut novel. the problem? after reading her brief notes about her family, i wanted to read that book instead of this book.
things i loved about land of love and drowning:
* rebekah
* the historical importance and power of storytelling
* the dabbles of magical realism-light
* the setting - the look at st.thomas during this time in its history was great
* the way the island paradise was a bubble for a long time, and how that changed when it switched to american ownership - followed by WWII, the korean war, and then the racism and politics of the US getting to the island
* the potential of the story
things i disliked about land of love and drowning:
* the repetition - how many times do we need to be told, for example, that anette is a history teacher? that even though she teaches it, it is through a limited, censored lens?
* the disconnection/flatness of eeona
* eeona
* this scene:
* the novel felt bloated, in need of better editing
* there was a lot of passivity
* oh. and this:
i was in the mood for a sweeping epic. i had hoped this would be a great read. i am left disappointed, unfortunately. it definitely had interesting moments, this story. but they only served to amp up my feeling bummed, as i slogged through the filler. most of the time, reading this novel felt like a chore, to which i was reluctantly returning just to get it finished. (sorry!!!)
things i loved about land of love and drowning:
* rebekah
* the historical importance and power of storytelling
* the dabbles of magical realism-light
* the setting - the look at st.thomas during this time in its history was great
* the way the island paradise was a bubble for a long time, and how that changed when it switched to american ownership - followed by WWII, the korean war, and then the racism and politics of the US getting to the island
* the potential of the story
things i disliked about land of love and drowning:
* the repetition - how many times do we need to be told, for example, that anette is a history teacher? that even though she teaches it, it is through a limited, censored lens?
* the disconnection/flatness of eeona
* eeona
* this scene:
* the novel felt bloated, in need of better editing
* there was a lot of passivity
* oh. and this:
i was in the mood for a sweeping epic. i had hoped this would be a great read. i am left disappointed, unfortunately. it definitely had interesting moments, this story. but they only served to amp up my feeling bummed, as i slogged through the filler. most of the time, reading this novel felt like a chore, to which i was reluctantly returning just to get it finished. (sorry!!!)
January 22, 2015
Storytelling is a powerful thing.
I remember a woman who came to our elementary school to tell stories. We all gathered on the floor in the library. She stood in front of us empty-handed. No book anywhere in sight. I was both a very literate and a very visual child, so it confounded me that this woman intended to tell us a story without reading it from a book. Where exactly was the story going to come from?
And then she opened her mouth, and I forgot everything but the sound of her voice. Someone could have snapped her fingers in front of my face and I wouldn't have flinched. Adults had been reading aloud to me since probably the day I was born (thanks Mom and Dad!), but I had never encountered anything like this—the storyteller's voice, the way it rose like thunder and then tapered away to silence, made me lean forward, my muscles tensed in physical anticipation of what was coming next. It wasn't just her expressiveness. There was something about the way the story came through her, as if it were electricity and she the conductor. She wasn't turning pages and parroting what a book told her to say. The story was inside her somewhere, and with only her voice, she conjured it before our eyes.
As she spoke, I could picture that story more clearly than any illustrated book I'd ever read.
Reading Land of Love and Drowning reminds me of that experience from years ago. It feels like an oral history, the kind of story you'd be told before bedtime, in fragments, over many, many nights. It's a moderate 350 pages, but it reads slow like molasses, the generations of characters looping back on each other, making the same mistakes and suffering the same losses, often without knowing they walk a well-worn path. Something about the years passing in the lives of the characters makes me want to slow down and feel the weight of all that time.
In 1917 the Bradshaws have just become Americans along with the rest of the inhabitants of the Virgin Islands, as the land is transferred from Danish control. Captain Bradshaw has spent his life on the sea, and it's the sea that claims him when his boat meets a reef. He leaves behind a tangled web of women: his wife Antoinette, his beautiful daughter Eeona, the baby Anette who is too young to remember him, and a mistress, Rebekah, who holds the power of dark magic but could never control his love. Through the years, these women's lives will overlap and intersect in strange and unsettling ways.
Just like the storyteller that visited my school, Tiphanie Yanique transported me to another place and time with this book. I don't feel like I read it so much as breathed it in.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
I remember a woman who came to our elementary school to tell stories. We all gathered on the floor in the library. She stood in front of us empty-handed. No book anywhere in sight. I was both a very literate and a very visual child, so it confounded me that this woman intended to tell us a story without reading it from a book. Where exactly was the story going to come from?
And then she opened her mouth, and I forgot everything but the sound of her voice. Someone could have snapped her fingers in front of my face and I wouldn't have flinched. Adults had been reading aloud to me since probably the day I was born (thanks Mom and Dad!), but I had never encountered anything like this—the storyteller's voice, the way it rose like thunder and then tapered away to silence, made me lean forward, my muscles tensed in physical anticipation of what was coming next. It wasn't just her expressiveness. There was something about the way the story came through her, as if it were electricity and she the conductor. She wasn't turning pages and parroting what a book told her to say. The story was inside her somewhere, and with only her voice, she conjured it before our eyes.
As she spoke, I could picture that story more clearly than any illustrated book I'd ever read.
Reading Land of Love and Drowning reminds me of that experience from years ago. It feels like an oral history, the kind of story you'd be told before bedtime, in fragments, over many, many nights. It's a moderate 350 pages, but it reads slow like molasses, the generations of characters looping back on each other, making the same mistakes and suffering the same losses, often without knowing they walk a well-worn path. Something about the years passing in the lives of the characters makes me want to slow down and feel the weight of all that time.
In 1917 the Bradshaws have just become Americans along with the rest of the inhabitants of the Virgin Islands, as the land is transferred from Danish control. Captain Bradshaw has spent his life on the sea, and it's the sea that claims him when his boat meets a reef. He leaves behind a tangled web of women: his wife Antoinette, his beautiful daughter Eeona, the baby Anette who is too young to remember him, and a mistress, Rebekah, who holds the power of dark magic but could never control his love. Through the years, these women's lives will overlap and intersect in strange and unsettling ways.
Just like the storyteller that visited my school, Tiphanie Yanique transported me to another place and time with this book. I don't feel like I read it so much as breathed it in.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
December 30, 2015
This is one of those books that I imagine will get a lot of critical acclaim. It was superbly well written with just enough of the island dialect peppered in. The book was well written with beautiful, enchanting descriptions of the island and well defined (female) characters. The male characters were somewhat indistinguishable from each other.
The book is a multi-generational tale of the Bradshaw family who lives on the American Virgin Islands. It begins as the islands are transferring nationality from Dutch to American and ends about 50 years later. If incest is something that will make you sick to your stomach to read about, then this book is NOT for you, because there is a lot of it going on. Even relationships that are not incestuous tend to feel wrong in other ways.
There really isn’t much of a plot to the book. It is more of a winding tale of a family and the island on which they live. I never really knew where the book was going, but it turned out that was because it was going nowhere. The book is all about the journey through the Bradshaw’s lives and there is no particular destination.
Parts of the book reminded me of a Caribbean Thorn Birds. If my mom were to read this review, I am sure she would say, “you could do a great compare and contrast paper on that.” I am not why I would need to write such a paper, but she always seems to want me to write papers about things. Anyhow- that was off topic. Here is a short rundown of the similarities between the two.
1. Both books focus on the female characters.
2. The women don’t really need the male characters, and the men almost seem like nuisances.
3. The island is its own character.
4. The book has several other characters, but the main character is the unique redhead.
5. There are inappropriate relationships.
6. I found myself rooting for and against the inappropriate relationships. (I was never rooting for Owen)
There are probably others, and there are plenty of differences, but I will not be writing a paper on them. If you have read and enjoyed one of the books, you may also enjoy the other.
I enjoyed the book, despite feeling somewhat dirty at times while reading it. It is a beautiful description of life on the islands and of a fictional family that is unique in many ways and universal in others.
The book is a multi-generational tale of the Bradshaw family who lives on the American Virgin Islands. It begins as the islands are transferring nationality from Dutch to American and ends about 50 years later. If incest is something that will make you sick to your stomach to read about, then this book is NOT for you, because there is a lot of it going on. Even relationships that are not incestuous tend to feel wrong in other ways.
There really isn’t much of a plot to the book. It is more of a winding tale of a family and the island on which they live. I never really knew where the book was going, but it turned out that was because it was going nowhere. The book is all about the journey through the Bradshaw’s lives and there is no particular destination.
Parts of the book reminded me of a Caribbean Thorn Birds. If my mom were to read this review, I am sure she would say, “you could do a great compare and contrast paper on that.” I am not why I would need to write such a paper, but she always seems to want me to write papers about things. Anyhow- that was off topic. Here is a short rundown of the similarities between the two.
1. Both books focus on the female characters.
2. The women don’t really need the male characters, and the men almost seem like nuisances.
3. The island is its own character.
4. The book has several other characters, but the main character is the unique redhead.
5. There are inappropriate relationships.
6. I found myself rooting for and against the inappropriate relationships. (I was never rooting for Owen)
There are probably others, and there are plenty of differences, but I will not be writing a paper on them. If you have read and enjoyed one of the books, you may also enjoy the other.
I enjoyed the book, despite feeling somewhat dirty at times while reading it. It is a beautiful description of life on the islands and of a fictional family that is unique in many ways and universal in others.
December 29, 2019
So many reviewers felt this book was so well written that I feel as if I must be missing something. Yet, hmmm maybe not so much.
First of all, many of those who didn’t like this book, objected to it because of the incest in it. I didn’t have a problem with the incest as a subject matter - Don’t get me wrong, of course I object to incest in society, but I also object to racism, child abuse, rape, murder, etc, but that doesn’t prevent me from reading books that contain it. I think it’s because the author never convinced me that it really happened. There was really no emotion, no detail, no depth to it, and that, I think, is the theme I would use for the entire novel- it didn’t evoke any emotion in me, it didn’t expand the detail or depth of any event or character enough that I really cared.
I also recognized the mythical elements in the story although for me they became tedious. I admit I’m not a fan if the mythological or fantastical in a story anyway although there are authors who use it much better.
I acknowledged and tolerated the odd “dialect” used by a few characters although it didn’t make sense to me that only those characters would be speaking that way.
I didn’t find any of the characters to be particularly relatable, either from a likable or dislikable perspective- I just really didn’t care about them.
But what bothered me the most and grew to an annoyance by about 200 pages in that I couldn’t stand, was the way the author, in the narrative chapters, delivered the plot so directly and with such elementary text that it felt as if a 5th grader were writing it. It was tedious at best and frustrating at worst, especially after so many pages. Perhaps it was better in the first half of the book as I felt like the story moved along in a more interesting way in the first half, but I’m too frustrated having finished now to go back to the beginning to see if it was written as poorly.
So, for me, I guess I’ll give it a measly 2 although that’s only because I was interested in reading about the setting - the USVI and the BVI where we were sailing while I was reading the book. Otherwise I’d probably have dumped this book early on...
First of all, many of those who didn’t like this book, objected to it because of the incest in it. I didn’t have a problem with the incest as a subject matter - Don’t get me wrong, of course I object to incest in society, but I also object to racism, child abuse, rape, murder, etc, but that doesn’t prevent me from reading books that contain it. I think it’s because the author never convinced me that it really happened. There was really no emotion, no detail, no depth to it, and that, I think, is the theme I would use for the entire novel- it didn’t evoke any emotion in me, it didn’t expand the detail or depth of any event or character enough that I really cared.
I also recognized the mythical elements in the story although for me they became tedious. I admit I’m not a fan if the mythological or fantastical in a story anyway although there are authors who use it much better.
I acknowledged and tolerated the odd “dialect” used by a few characters although it didn’t make sense to me that only those characters would be speaking that way.
I didn’t find any of the characters to be particularly relatable, either from a likable or dislikable perspective- I just really didn’t care about them.
But what bothered me the most and grew to an annoyance by about 200 pages in that I couldn’t stand, was the way the author, in the narrative chapters, delivered the plot so directly and with such elementary text that it felt as if a 5th grader were writing it. It was tedious at best and frustrating at worst, especially after so many pages. Perhaps it was better in the first half of the book as I felt like the story moved along in a more interesting way in the first half, but I’m too frustrated having finished now to go back to the beginning to see if it was written as poorly.
So, for me, I guess I’ll give it a measly 2 although that’s only because I was interested in reading about the setting - the USVI and the BVI where we were sailing while I was reading the book. Otherwise I’d probably have dumped this book early on...
February 23, 2018
Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique is a masterpiece. I do not say this lightly. It is now part of my personal canon.
Land of Love and Drowning is a complex story with lots of interwoven pieces. It follows the lineage of Antoinette, a woman from Anegada—literally the land of drowning, deserts her lobster fisherman intended for Arthur Owen, a ship captain. The two have two daughters, Eeona and Anette, and Owen Arthur has a son Jacob Esau by another woman. The lines between familial love and romantic love are blurred and crossed in this book, and it make for a rich, out-of-the-box, beautiful narrative. The Caribbean’s history comes alive in the text, even in moments when the story doesn’t follow real life events exactly as they happened.
The book will swallow you, but you will not drown if you know how to swim. The imagery, the language, all mermaid beautiful. The language was my favorite. The prose was poetic, ebbing and flowing like the sea at crescent moon. The whole story was a poem. Tiphanie Yanique is a masterful storyteller skilled at maintaining tension between characters, settings, and histories. She moves so smoothly, almost like the sea itself during crescent moon. She shows the reader the future in a narrative grounded in the present. She tells you what is going to happen, but doesn’t give anything away. It’s a marvelous balancing act, and it makes it seem as if we’re living in past, present, and future all at once, which is kind of what it’s like when I’m reading Caribbean stories.
All the good feels I ever get from reading a book were amplified with this one. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2017. I can’t wait to pick up more books by Tiphanie Yanique.
Land of Love and Drowning is a complex story with lots of interwoven pieces. It follows the lineage of Antoinette, a woman from Anegada—literally the land of drowning, deserts her lobster fisherman intended for Arthur Owen, a ship captain. The two have two daughters, Eeona and Anette, and Owen Arthur has a son Jacob Esau by another woman. The lines between familial love and romantic love are blurred and crossed in this book, and it make for a rich, out-of-the-box, beautiful narrative. The Caribbean’s history comes alive in the text, even in moments when the story doesn’t follow real life events exactly as they happened.
The book will swallow you, but you will not drown if you know how to swim. The imagery, the language, all mermaid beautiful. The language was my favorite. The prose was poetic, ebbing and flowing like the sea at crescent moon. The whole story was a poem. Tiphanie Yanique is a masterful storyteller skilled at maintaining tension between characters, settings, and histories. She moves so smoothly, almost like the sea itself during crescent moon. She shows the reader the future in a narrative grounded in the present. She tells you what is going to happen, but doesn’t give anything away. It’s a marvelous balancing act, and it makes it seem as if we’re living in past, present, and future all at once, which is kind of what it’s like when I’m reading Caribbean stories.
All the good feels I ever get from reading a book were amplified with this one. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2017. I can’t wait to pick up more books by Tiphanie Yanique.
October 9, 2015
WARNING: INCEST GALORE!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
This book was my suggestion for my book club. I got into the story right away, but then kind of lost interest in the middle, only to get wrapped up in it again and then BAM. It ended. I felt it was rushed. I literally went from reading a beach scene to the page about the author. I thought my book was missing some pages. Nope. The time line in the book was off. How could one sister be in her teens when the second world war started, when she would have actually been well into her twenties. I hate when author's don't do research and screw things up. I took a star away for that reason and that the synopsis didn't match the book. Don't get me wrong it was a good book and my book club enjoyed it (well most), but I feel that something's were over looked and rushed.
This book was my suggestion for my book club. I got into the story right away, but then kind of lost interest in the middle, only to get wrapped up in it again and then BAM. It ended. I felt it was rushed. I literally went from reading a beach scene to the page about the author. I thought my book was missing some pages. Nope. The time line in the book was off. How could one sister be in her teens when the second world war started, when she would have actually been well into her twenties. I hate when author's don't do research and screw things up. I took a star away for that reason and that the synopsis didn't match the book. Don't get me wrong it was a good book and my book club enjoyed it (well most), but I feel that something's were over looked and rushed.
July 4, 2015
The central story here is about two sisters: Eeona and Annette. The two are quite different in all they do. The two sisters grow up on the US Virgin Islands (Annette just after the transition from Dutch power) and their lives are molded by the forces that have created the land.
The way the story is told is, at times, fragmented, and other times, quite lucid. I liked the use of different POVs particularly when it is the collective "we" of the old wives.
The characters here are painfully flawed and can't seem to rise above their short-comings. There were times when I wanted a character to be more fully realized and a scene to be drawn out.
The rich history of the Caribbean is present throughout and Yanique has good notes in the back for the references she makes in the book.
The way the story is told is, at times, fragmented, and other times, quite lucid. I liked the use of different POVs particularly when it is the collective "we" of the old wives.
The characters here are painfully flawed and can't seem to rise above their short-comings. There were times when I wanted a character to be more fully realized and a scene to be drawn out.
The rich history of the Caribbean is present throughout and Yanique has good notes in the back for the references she makes in the book.
January 29, 2015
1.5
I wouldn't have picked up this book if it wasn't picked for a buddy read by a friend of mine.
I will say that the writing style was interesting enough, and I wasn't as bothered by the patois as some, though it did take some getting used to.
And I was interested in the political and racial themes, and the crises of identity portrayed in the story as the Virgin Islands are brought under the "wing" of America.
But the focus of the story - the family drama - is not to my tastes. It's dysfunctional to the extreme, and more than a little squicky, and I wasn't invested enough in any of the characters to make this train wreck of a story more bearable or interesting.
I wouldn't have picked up this book if it wasn't picked for a buddy read by a friend of mine.
I will say that the writing style was interesting enough, and I wasn't as bothered by the patois as some, though it did take some getting used to.
And I was interested in the political and racial themes, and the crises of identity portrayed in the story as the Virgin Islands are brought under the "wing" of America.
But the focus of the story - the family drama - is not to my tastes. It's dysfunctional to the extreme, and more than a little squicky, and I wasn't invested enough in any of the characters to make this train wreck of a story more bearable or interesting.
February 21, 2016
I was really looking forward to reading this multi-generational saga set in the Virgin Islands but, unfortunately, I never could get into it and the magical realism didn’t do anything for me. The story centers around the Bradshaw family and the two daughters Eeona and Annette – both very different personalities – as well as their half-brother. I found the story meandered and was difficult to follow at times between reality, myth and magical realism but I did appreciate the history of the Virgin Islands – probably, the only thing I did. Not one of my enjoyable reads.
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