Rating: 
Summary: A Caribbean jeremiad
Review: "A Small Place," by Jamaica Kincaid, is a nonfiction prose piece about the Caribbean island of Antigua. The author bio at the beginning of the book notes that the author was born on Antigua. A lean 81 pages, this is nonetheless a powerful text.Kincaid discusses British colonialism, the corruption of the Antiguan government, racism, and greed. It seems to me a key question raised by the book is whether post-colonial Antigua is worse than colonial Antigua. The book is very much haunted by the spectre of New World slavery. This book is a dark, angry jeremiad. I think it works better when seen as an extended prose poem rather than as an essay. As the latter, it could be criticized as full of invalid generalizations and undocumented claims. But as a poetic/prophetic text, it is chillingly effective. Ultimately, Kincaid's vision of the human condition is extremely negative But her haunting, almost hypnotic prose really held me. I recommend the book to anyone planning a trip to a poor country for their own pleasure.
Rating: 
Summary: A Screed . . . Redeemed Only by Its Lyricism
Review: "A Small Place" is a small book of unsubtle reflections about Antigua, the nine-by-twelve mile island in the West Indies where Jamaica Kincaid was born and spent her childhood. Unfortunately, the book is redeemed only by the lyricism of Kincaid's prose. In simplistic fashion, Kincaid explores the legacy of British colonialism and the corruption of Antigua's native leaders. Kincaid acknowledges the splenetic nature of her endeavor, telling the reader to "look at this prolonged visit to the bile duct I am making, look at how bitter, how dyspeptic just to sit and think about these things makes me." The book is certainly bilious, a sort of juvenile screed from an author demonstrably capable of more subtle analysis. Read "A Small Place" if you're traveling to the West Indies or read it if you're an admirer of Jamaica Kincaid's literary craftsmanship. Just don't expect too much from it.
Rating:
Summary: A Small Place Indeed
Review: A remarkable story of a citizen who left and came back. We, the readers experience Antigua through the eyes of native. Interestingly, we get a picture of a country that is not as Carribean but as a country that has no direction and yet directs us. We are the citizens of this small place and see the future of the place that we keep most sacred in our hearts.
Rating: 
Summary: Original, eloquent, and angry
Review: A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid is perhaps one of the best books I've read. From the very first page to the end, it grabs its readers and forces them to look at things the way they never have. The amount of anger can be overwhelming, yet never trite. Though her eloqence is well-shown in other works of hers, such as At the Bottom of the River, A Small Place possesses something more--perhaps magic, enabling its readers to turn pages with urgency. Unless you're a Fabio-romace reader, you'll come to appreciate it the minute you start reading it.
Rating:
Summary: This is an interesting book about the Caribbean.
Review: A very moving story in a small town.
Rating:
Summary: An island paradise
Review: Antigua, an awe-inspiring vacation spot for Europeans and North Americans, takes on a different aura when discussed by native Jamaica Kincaid. Ms. Kincaid describes how the Antiguans feel about the tourists who visit: ugly people. Ugly because they invaded, then brought slaves to work for them so they could become rich while ignoring the needs of those who made them wealthy. Ugly because of what they've done to the island and the people who live there. Jamaica talks about the corrupt government and the hand that North Americans, British, Syrians and Lebanese play in that corruption. She describes how England paved the roads the Queen of England would travel when she visited, but left everything else in poor condition. Ms. Kincaid also mentions the drug dealers that the government ignores and those who build ugly condos for the wealthy and rent business space to the government who should be building their own space.
In a very few pages, Jamaica Kincaid says what a lot of former slaves would like to say but are perhaps too politically correct to utter. She does the job for us. Ms. Kincaid does not mince her words when it comes to what the British Empire did to the people of Antigua and the world for that matter. Frequently, I found myself wanting to stand up and cheer as I read her words of disgust and anger. While Ms. Kincaid is specifically speaking of Antigua, her words describe the slave trade and the destruction and poverty left in the wake of it no matter what country. It is well worth reading - more than once.
Reviewed by alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK
Review: As I picked this book up in the book store of my university, I thought that this book was going to be another one I'd skim and take an exam on... Not so... Jamiaca Kincaid's story of growing up in Antigua made me read the short novel slowly, absorbing every great detail... The book is detailed in such a way you can see, feel, and hear everything that she does... I actually kept this book...
Rating:
Summary: Justified anger and frustration
Review: Can't say enough about this book. . . She succintly and poignantly articulates the reality of developing nations with colonial legacies with priceless ardor, sadness and frustration.. A must for those who like to confront the consequences of history.
Rating:
Summary: Spell-binding
Review: Exceptional, breathtaking. I have never in my entire life witnessed a god-given writing talent like this.
Rating: 
Summary: And we hate you, too
Review: I am a pacifist, liberal, anti-racist, but lord help me if I wasn't a panting colonialist by the time I finished this rant. Hate breeds hate, right? And please, haven't we seen enough countries that survived the (real, horriffic) oppression of the West only to thrive? Haven't we given up on the idea of island paradises (they weren't) despoiled (true) by Europeans? Haven't we admitted that slavery was not unique to whites, that Africans (and Asians, and Pacific Islanders, and . . .) have long dehumanized others, and other races? Haven't we accepted that colonialism disfigured, but did not ruin, peoples, that almost ALL races and peoples have been colonized at one point or another? Not Ms. Kincaid. No one could begrudge her her anger; but her hatred? About as useful as a whip on the back.
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