(JIS)- Alex Wheatle, a British author of Jamaican heritage, has said that his new novel ‘Island Songs’ is a tribute to Jamaica, his parents and the Jamaicans, who came to the United Kingdom during the Windrush era.
“It’s a tribute to my parents’ generation; the generation that left Jamaica to come to England to set up a new life. It’s a tribute to their innovation and their strength”, he told JIS News in a recent interview.
Wheatle, who came to international prominence with his debut novel ‘Brixton Rock’, said he also wanted to write something “strong and positive” about Jamaica. “I wanted to write something strong about the Jamaican people. Sometimes, Jamaica gets a bit of negative press but Jamaicans are very good, God-fearing people and I wanted to bring that across”, he added.
‘Island Songs’ tells the story of two sisters, Jenny and Hortense Rodney, who are descendents of the Maroons. It details their lives growing up in rural Claremont and then moving to Kingston, where they worked amid the hustle and bustle, lawn parties and ‘houses of joy’ in Trench Town, before moving to England with their husbands, where they settled down to motherhood amongst the jazz cafés and bleak streets of Brixton.
Hortense and her husband Cilbert, dream of finding prosperity through hard work in England, and eventually being able to return to Jamaica a wealthy family, while Jenny, tied by the strong and complex bonds of sisterhood, follows Hortense in her travels and brings with her Jacob, her husband, who establishes the first black church in South London.
The book has been described as a beautiful evocation of twentieth-century Jamaica, its history and traditions.
Wheatle said that he has always felt privileged to be Jamaican and was proud to write the stories of Jamaicans. “Even though I am British born, I am very proud of Jamaica. I feel part of Jamaica; my parents taught me about Jamaica. I visit there many times, and I always get inspired when I go there. Jamaicans are fantastic people and it (Island Songs) is my tribute. I feel very privileged that I am a Jamaican and the stories were handed down to me by my parents’ generation. They fascinated me and I am sure they will fascinate everyone, who reads the book”, he stated.
Alex Wheatle was born in South London. He is the founding member of The Crucial Rocker sound system and he worked with the Book Trust to introduce literature to those who are dispossessed. He organizes and holds workshops in prisons and young adult institutions. He is the author of several other novels – Brixton Rock, The Seven Sisters, East of Acre Lane and Checkers, which he co-wrote with Mark Parkham.
