Aunt Jen (Caribbean Writers SeriesRG)

Rating:
Summary: Rather disturbing chronicle of growing up.
Review: This book is not a happy book. It is a collection of letters written to a person that seems disinterested in corresponding.

The letters are from Sunshine, a young girl in living with her grandparents in Jamaica, to her "Aunt Jen" as she attempts to build a relationship. As the book progresses so to does our understanding of what is going on.

The background of Sunshine is slowly revealed as she discusses the everyday events that she feels are important and relays the feelings pertaining to the events. As the book continues, events unfold in such a way to build a relationship between the reader and the author. The events are sequential and many references are made to what has already been written. In a sense the story is a mystery that we discern only as we progress from letter to letter.

Often, events that impact us greatly are negative and poignant examples of these events appear among these letters. Each time it is hard, but regrettably, it became almost predictable as time moved on.

My background is considerably different than the protagonist, and as a result, so is my personal point of view. I do not have a familiarity with the specific culture, and found it difficult to place myself in the same situations as the author was in.

The dialect is hard to follow, and I only had success to a point because of my past acquaintance with it. Even so, many times I had to reread a section to get the context, to better understand what was happening. It was somewhat interesting to find a glossary at the end that explained many of the terms and words used. If you do not have experience with the dialect, I strongly recommend the use of the glossary.

Aunt Jen is well written, but I did not really find it enjoyable. Intriguing? Yes. Interesting even, but not enjoyable. It is a rather quick read, easily accomplished over the course of a few hours.

If you are interested dramatic fiction, cultural fiction or in Jamaican culture specifically, this is a good read. If you are more interested in adventure or heroic fiction, it is unlikely you will enjoy this book

Rating:
Summary: NICE, SWEET JAMAICAN STORY!
Review: This is a fabulous Jamaican rural story of a young girl named Sunshine. It is a deep story filled with mystery and suspense(and I will not reveal and spoil the plot for you), yet it is written in a nice format filled with the local dialect. Don't worry if your not familiar with the dialect because there is a neat glossary at the back. This book is a must buy!!!!!