Around the World for a Good Book selection for the United States Virgin Islands
Author: Tiphanie Yanique
Title: Land of Love and Drowning
Narrator: Cherise Boothe, Korey Jackson, Rachel Leslie, and Myra Lucretia Taylor
Publication Info: Prince Frederick, MD : Recorded Books, [2014] 
Summary/Review:
This historical novel is a multi-generational saga about the Bradshaw family of the United States Virgin Islands. The story begins in 1917 with the transfer of the islands from Denmark to the United States and the ongoing theme of the narrative is how the Virgin Islands are American but treated as something tangential. Events withing the story include the enlistment of V.I. men to World War II and the Korean War, the rise of tourism and resort hotels, Hollywood using the islands as a filming locale, and the Civil Rights movement which inspires a movement to occupy the beaches that are being privatized by white American property owners and hotels.
The Bradshaw’s story starts with Owen Arthur Bradshaw, a ship’s captain, and his wife Antoinette, who are part of highly-respectable family on St. Thomas. They have two daughters, Eona and Anette. Owen also fathers a son named Jacob Esau with his mistress. When their parents die (Owen in a traumatic shipwreck), Eona is forced to put aside her desires to raise Anette. The novel alternates among the three children’s points of view as it follows their story up until the 1970s. Yanique’s writing feels inspired by Toni Morrison and has touches of magical realism. There’s also a lot of incest, both knowing and unknowing.
There are parts of this book that are very interesting but also some parts I found quite absurd (the Hollywood movie ends up being a pornographic film, in the 1950s?) and other times that I just wished that Yanique would get on with the story instead of circling around a point. So, consider this a mixed review.
Recommended books:
- Tar Baby by Toni Morrison
- Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge
- Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid
Rating: **1/2
Panorama of the Mountains 