Drama in Dominica

Thanks to Alema, Adrian, and Ellen who joined Phyllis for the discussion of Unburnable - a title chosen because based on the book's description, it fit the "Mad Mothers" theme for May. However, after closing the pages, the opening lines of Mama Maya Angelou's Still I Rise instantly came to mind:

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room.

As with so many headstrong females, history has a way of distorting the truth, often demonizing and besmirching their reputations, sealing the scandalous lies and rumors in song and legend. Such is the case in our story - the protagonist, Lillian, learns of her grandmother's (Matilda) unfortunate demise and her mother's (Iris) tarnished reputation via rather raunchy Carnival songs and sets course to prove their innocence and clear their names.

It is in this quest for the truth, the reader travels through time through a series of flashbacks from each of the three women to learn not only about their lives, loves, losses, talents, and passions, but about the history of the island, its people and the shaping of its cultures via the lingering effects of slavery and colonization, the blending of religion (African, Native Carib, Catholicism), language, art, merging of familial traditions and structure, etc. It also touches on mental illness, the influence of religious doctrine, and the notion of generational curses.

Ellen's family hails from Dominica which was the setting for a large part of the story. The author cleverly morphed and elevated the country itself from being just a place-setting to near character-esque standing for it had a personality of its own. Ellen noted the spot-on accuracy of the topographical (rocky mounts and lush valleys) descriptions and clever capturing of the country's nuanced culture (river-bathing, Carnival traditions, the devastation caused by Hurricane David, matriarchal family structures, etc).

We noted the same shortcomings of the story which deducted points from our rating:

• we both felt the romance between Lillian and Teddy fell flat and was presented as a mere afterthought

• the pacing was uneven - it took too long to get to the climax and when we arrived, it was too clean, too neat, and too rushed

Our Ratings

• Ellen: 3.5

• Phyllis: 3.5

Alema and Adrian didn't have time to read the book, but plan to do so in the future.

If you read the book, share your thoughts and rating below in the comment section!

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