The Gnome King reviewed One People by Guy Kennaway
Review of 'One People' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
It’s not often that Eland publish a book of fiction but when they do it never fails to surprise me with just how caught up I get, temporarily forgetting that it is all made up. One People is set in a Jamaican hamlet, full of what I’m guessing are squatters, these people are living their lives as full as their circumstances will allow and they are some of the happiest you’ll ever meet. Kennaway has written this book in the local patois and it is this use of language that pulls you in, the sing-song flow of speech is almost mesmerising and your inner-voice instantly picks it up, what could have been a potentially difficult book to understand works perfectly. The book is not one story and neither is it really a collection of short stories, what has been put together here is an anthology of local lore, imagine a …
It’s not often that Eland publish a book of fiction but when they do it never fails to surprise me with just how caught up I get, temporarily forgetting that it is all made up. One People is set in a Jamaican hamlet, full of what I’m guessing are squatters, these people are living their lives as full as their circumstances will allow and they are some of the happiest you’ll ever meet. Kennaway has written this book in the local patois and it is this use of language that pulls you in, the sing-song flow of speech is almost mesmerising and your inner-voice instantly picks it up, what could have been a potentially difficult book to understand works perfectly. The book is not one story and neither is it really a collection of short stories, what has been put together here is an anthology of local lore, imagine a gathering of friends where you’re all reminiscing about the good old times and the crazy stuff you got up to.
The characters are so good, there are a lot and each of them appear on the pages so vividly you don’t lose track of who’s who. A few of my favourites were Yami a true Rastafarian living at a level of peace we can only dream of, U-Roy a wily chap that is far wiser than he realises as he can come up with a scam instantly and while it doesn’t always work out each scam just builds on his legend and then there is Vinton who is probably the poorest in the hamlet but due to hard work and a lack of fear he could become the most successful. This is one of those places where everybody knows everybody and gossip flows quicker than the actual events.
The book is one of the funniest I’ve read, there is a constant stream of humour and crazy situations, even the little things in the background had me laughing, the coach driver screeching to a halt at bar to neck a couple beers whilst the tourists look on. The scams the locals pull off, games of footballs, home-keeping, obsessions with TVs, road signs and the treatment of tourists, there is so much jammed into these pages.
This book is endearing, you’ll fall in love with the place and the people and before you know it you’ll be hopping on a plane to fall for a scam….yes I am currently writing this review as I fly over the Atlantic…..
Blog review: felcherman.wordpress.com/2022/05/17/one-people-by-guy-kennaway/