Rating: 
Summary: BOMBASTIC -- FANTASTIC -- A MUST READ FOR ALL YARDEES
Review: Quite simply, "Waiting in Vain" is the best book that I have ever read, I just could not put it down.The book depicts true to life situations which most people will relate to. The international flavor gives added zest for readers familiar with the West Indian culture. Those who understand Jamaican patois will find the book extremely humorous at times but it is also sensuous, heart wrenching and uplifting - dealing with life and love as it really is for people of African-American, West Indian and British backgrounds. Although readers of all nationalities will enjoy the very different characters that Colin Channer portrays in this book, they might find it a little harder to understand. I felt as though I was part of the story - it seemed so real. Colin has a wonderful way with words. He hits the nail right on the head describing the different ways that different people deal with life and love. Guys - do not be misled by the title and cover, this is not another "male bashing" romance novel. Men and women, young and old, who love a "Caribbean flavor" will thoroughly enjoy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Waiting In Vain riffs as eloquently as the Marley song
Review: The title of Colin Channer's first book holds many clues to the narrative's journey and ultimate destination. Waiting In Vain is also the name of Bob Marley's romantic reggae ballad about a love that is apparently unconsummated and certainly unrealized. You will have to read the novel to find out whether Fire and Sylvia the story's main characters suffer or enjoy the same fate as the would-be lovers described in the song. The comparison between novel and song goes much deeper. Both are skillfully rooted in a Jamaican/Caribbean aesthetic but at the same time embody a universal appeal. Channer's writing- like Marley's lyrics- is often poetic and at times spiced with a rhythm that has an unmistakable reggae feel. His narrative travels a geographic path from Cuba to New York to London and Jamaica, all places where we know Marley's song made an impact. These similarities between song and novel are instructive. However, one very real issue is whether Channer has been able to devise a story that approaches the high standards of Marley's art. I think this is definately the case. The word portraits of the novel's inhabitants and the situations in which they find themselves is delicately and patiently constructed. Such an approach provides the reader with reasons to care about what happens to these people. The book is populated with several Jamaican characters- including the principals- who seem familiar and are all interesting, but, to varying degrees, flawed. Many of the individuals that we meet through the pages of the book earn a living by operating in a particular aspect of the arts. Most, if not all, are middle-class professionals who are solidly connected in some way to either humble family origins or less fortunate sensibilities. Channer's Waiting In Vain is much more than a love story. It references and documents aspects of the Jamaican diasporic experience of the nineties and the recent past. It delivers to non-Caribbean readers a chance to experience a story offering circumstances that taste and digest like authenticYard mango juice and real jerk chicken. Waiting In Vain -the novel is an auspicious debut that riffs as eloquently as the song, packing the one-two punch of engaging the mind and the heart.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Story !!
Review: This book was amazing to me. I never read such a story that is so real as this. Colin weaves words with magic. He takes you in, takes you deep into the heart of his characters. The whole feel of this story was wonderful.What woman wouldn't fall in love with Fire! He was the perfect man, humble, spirited and so tastefully erotic.I too am Waiting In Vain for Colin's next novel.. What a beauty you have crafted Colin. And Satisfy My Soul did exactly that, satisfy my soul..The literary world needed this kind of spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Maximum Reality
Review: This book was amazingly and intimately written. Never have I ever read a book that I felt a part of. It was so real that I didn't have to put myself in character to enjoy and feel the complete essence of it. Colin is on his way to great things. Being in Ontario, Canada, I can really appreciate him mentioning us lonely folks up here. Also because I was born in Jamaica, I can assure readers that paradise does exists here on earth.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ. THIS BOOK WILL FEED YOUR SOUL
Review: WAITING IN VAIN captures the essence of romance. Colin takes the reader on a journey filled with hope and fulfillment of ones own passion. Fire is a sensual, compassionate and talented black man, spiritually rooted to his own self worth who loves deeply from his soul. I could not get enough of the relationship between Fire and Sylvia and am waiting in vain for a continuation of their lives together. Congratulations Mr. Channer, your first book is truly a success story of great magnitude. I hope you continue to write with such great clarity of the human nature to love unconditionally.
| 
