Facing North Tales From Bathsheba edition by Edison T Williams Literature Fiction eBooks
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Ten intriguing tales from the Caribbean island of Barbados.An antidote to the daily Farrago of celebrity lives served up by the media. this book celebrates the true 'homo ordinarius' and his response to personal, natural and man-made challenges.
Reminiscent of some of Mavis Gallant's short fiction... The stories, all good reads, deal with serious current issues of ...politics, economics, race, sex, land appropriation and identity...these are hopeful stories...(Robert Edison Sandiford author of THE TREE OF YOUTH and other stories)
(Edison T. Williams) is a story teller! He has the technique of gripping the reader from the beginning. (His) endings are classic Somerset Maugham/O. Henry. I have my favourites among the stories, 'Desmond Lola and Bassman' is fascinating...'The New Sybaris' is a riveting read... 'Island Man' is captivating... but I really loved them all. (Peter Laurie, author of MAUBY'S QUEST FOR THE MAGIC FLOWER and other books.)
A well prepared potpourri lovingly served with gentle humour and a dash of nostalgia.
Facing North Tales From Bathsheba edition by Edison T Williams Literature Fiction eBooks
This is a lovely collection of short stories about fictional characters and events in Bathsheba, a small seaside village, on the rugged East coast of Barbados, facing the Atlantic.The events described here could have been taking place anywhere in the world, and thus have global validity. However, all 10 stories reveal a strong emotional investment by the author, in that place. Each story deals with a different topic and depicts distinct characters. The stories are written in a beautiful style, easy to follow and full of wisdom and humour.
The epicenter of the stories is in Bathsheba, and even when the action takes place elsewhere, such as in "Desmond Lola and Bassman", there is always a Bathsheba connection. All of the stories deal with fundamental aspects of human life. In the "Price of Fish" a young fisherman mobilizes and leads a rescue operation risking his life, to save others and the local fishing fleet during a severe Atlantic gale, luckily, with a happy ending. In "Facing North" we learn about the consequences of lending money to "trustworthy friends" and about looking in the wrong direction for the right answer. In "Iron Man Jones" a young newspaper reporter is searching for the truth from a retired policeman, about her grandfather's shooting. In "Breadfruit Brouhaha" the author deals with petty competition, rich against poor, the despair of poverty and the funny side of a mother's bravery. "Island Man" is a love story between two people ultimately separated by opposing professional ambitions and distinct socio-political outlooks on life. Perhaps in a follow-up story, the author may still bring the two main characters together.
In "Desmond Lola and Bassman", - the story I liked the most - a highly talented jazz bassist (Bassman),living in London but born in Bathsheba gives the author the opportunity to express his views on the power of music, of war, of illness, of love and of cultural identity.
In the last story, " The New Sybaris" the action takes place in the future (It commences in 2015) and deals with the attempt at a major real estate grab by a large corporation, from the individual home-owners of the Bathsheba area, in order to build expensive condominiums and commercial centers for international interests. The story is beautifully written in the detective story style with a lot of political intrigue that reaches even the office of the Prime Minister. Interesting to note that many of the characters that we meet in Facing North re-appear here, most of them in a positive light.
I was sorry to finish this book.
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Facing North Tales From Bathsheba edition by Edison T Williams Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
These stories are all set in and around the quaint fishing village of Bathsheba on the east coast of Barbados. Bathsheba is the epicentre of that boulder-strewn brown-beached coast, which, pounded mercilessly by the Atlantic surf and rising in majestic sweep up to the hills and cliffs above, provides a stark contrast to the subdued charm of the flat palm-fringed white beaches of the west coast. This picturesque landscape is the backdrop for beautifully crafted stories that dissect the foibles and ambitions of a delightful cast of characters with loving irony.I have my favourites, but I won't spoil it for you. Read them all. Enjoy
Edison T. Williams is a Barbadian who has spent most of his life in the hotel and restaurant business. In retirement he has turned to writing, which, judging by this collection of ten short stories, he could have made his career. He is an economical writer and an acute observer whose people come vividly alive. And sometimes they are not people at all. An amiable dog named Ella, for example, tells her own story, commenting shrewdly on her owners and successfully fending off an insistent suitor. A grandfather recalls the first time he helped himself to a free ride on the train that, in the old days, ran past the section of Barbados called Bathsheba. A battle scarred British marine played the double bass with maniacal brilliance in Nottingham, England, until a dangerous brain tumor was excised and his talent vanished. He became just a man who revisits Bathsheba, his birthplace. In yet another tale, a storm attacks Tent Bay, where the local fishing fleet shelters behind a reef. Because there is no jetty, the men must swim to and from their sturdy open boats, most of them powered by reluctant outboards. One fishing boat is pulverized on the rocky shore by the gale, but the rest of the fleet roars one by one through the narrow gap in the reef to the open sea and safety on the other side of the north cape.
Williams describes Bathsheba as "a dash on the side of this dot of an island called Barbados. It lies on its eastern or Atlantic coast between Foster Hall and Cattlewash and below Hackelton's Cliff. It is a quiet seaside village, home to a few farmers, fishermen and other folk. It also attracts a steady trickle of holiday makers attracted to its picturesque landscape and fresh ocean breezes." Here Mr. Williams needs help from off island. The simple houses of Bathsheba sprout from a long hillside that slopes down to a line of roaring surf. Beyond lies the Atlantic, untroubled until it meets the coast of Africa some three thousand miles to the north and east.
There is precious little swimming and not much sun bathing on the beach in Bathsheba thanks to the relentless trade wind. Visitors come to this side of the island for the constant sound of the sea and for the pleasure of speculating for as long as they stay about what goes on beyond the empty horizon. This is an entirely different island from the calm leeward shore, now wall to wall hotels on sandy beaches. Mr. Williams's tales are a splendid introduction to this other Barbados.
If you have been to Barbados, and spent any time at all on the wild and wonderful east coast, and gotten to appreciate its quieter social side, read this book!
Even though it can sometimes be difficult to determine what compass direction we are facing, it can often be much more difficult to know what direction any given situation or any person will follow. Each of these short stories is masterfully crafted to prove that this is true.
Recommended for all who love the Caribbean, especially Barbados, and for all who love good short stories.
Had lunch with Theo in Barbados and found him to be a warm, interesting and most human of people. His stories reflect this! Having stayed in Bathsheba this past winter, I understood a bit about his characters as well.
Hope to read more from this marvelous fellow!
This is a lovely collection of short stories about fictional characters and events in Bathsheba, a small seaside village, on the rugged East coast of Barbados, facing the Atlantic.
The events described here could have been taking place anywhere in the world, and thus have global validity. However, all 10 stories reveal a strong emotional investment by the author, in that place. Each story deals with a different topic and depicts distinct characters. The stories are written in a beautiful style, easy to follow and full of wisdom and humour.
The epicenter of the stories is in Bathsheba, and even when the action takes place elsewhere, such as in "Desmond Lola and Bassman", there is always a Bathsheba connection. All of the stories deal with fundamental aspects of human life. In the "Price of Fish" a young fisherman mobilizes and leads a rescue operation risking his life, to save others and the local fishing fleet during a severe Atlantic gale, luckily, with a happy ending. In "Facing North" we learn about the consequences of lending money to "trustworthy friends" and about looking in the wrong direction for the right answer. In "Iron Man Jones" a young newspaper reporter is searching for the truth from a retired policeman, about her grandfather's shooting. In "Breadfruit Brouhaha" the author deals with petty competition, rich against poor, the despair of poverty and the funny side of a mother's bravery. "Island Man" is a love story between two people ultimately separated by opposing professional ambitions and distinct socio-political outlooks on life. Perhaps in a follow-up story, the author may still bring the two main characters together.
In "Desmond Lola and Bassman", - the story I liked the most - a highly talented jazz bassist (Bassman),living in London but born in Bathsheba gives the author the opportunity to express his views on the power of music, of war, of illness, of love and of cultural identity.
In the last story, " The New Sybaris" the action takes place in the future (It commences in 2015) and deals with the attempt at a major real estate grab by a large corporation, from the individual home-owners of the Bathsheba area, in order to build expensive condominiums and commercial centers for international interests. The story is beautifully written in the detective story style with a lot of political intrigue that reaches even the office of the Prime Minister. Interesting to note that many of the characters that we meet in Facing North re-appear here, most of them in a positive light.
I was sorry to finish this book.
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