Rating: 
Summary: Engaging; Captivating An extremely good read.
Review: 'Waiting in Vain', was a beautiful look inside yourself. I felt a certain tenderness for how Colin expressed the sweet side of manhood, rarely do we get the feel of male emotions. Fire was a sensitive man, who relied on the feelings of his soul. The reading was a little slow in sections, because I was not familiar with the dialect and I had to reread. But, it made the book more authentic, kinda of how it would be if I were to visit Jamaica, actually at one point I got the feeling I was there. Sadly realistic, it showed the shallowness of relationship when we are afraid to follow our souls feelings. Colin, thank you for rekindling the me inside.
Rating: 
Summary: A Crucial Debut
Review: Colin Channer, a Jamaican born writer, has given us a debut novel that has the power to excite & illustrate the complexity of human relations & their many disparate manifestations without resorting to cartoon like characters or off the shelf situations. The book is oozing with definitions & nuances of what it means be of Jamaican, West Indian extraction but ultimately he takes the story to a place that is universalist in outlook. His is a passionate, intelligent portrait of lives converging, clashing & finally redeeming each other. Waiting in Vain's protagonist is a man called Fire, who exhibits a passion that is both hot and cool. Along the way he meets Sylvia, 30 something professional, whose substantial longings aren't acknowledged until her involvement with Fire brings them out. Then there's Ian, a successful artist whose self destructive streak contrasts Fire's conscious vibe. These along with other well drawn characters populate the book's pages addressing issues of race, class, gender and what it means to be exquisitely human. I highly recommend this book & anxiously anticipate Mr. Channer's next effort.
Rating:
Summary: Bob would smile if he should read this book
Review: Channer expresses himself in a way that a lot of men would like to but cannot because they cannot find the words. This book will work well as a manual for a lot of men who are not, as they say in Jamaica, "lyrically inclined." It is a great book that everybody should by, and it should serve as a benchmark to see if you and your mate make it to a 10 or fall to a four.
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Summary: A GREAT BOOK THAT ALL BLACK MEN SHOULD READ
Review: EVERY BLACK MAN NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK--ESPECIALLY THE BROTHERS WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO ACT BECAUSE NO ONE EVER TOOK THEM ASIDE AND SCHOOLED THEM IN THE WAYS OF THE WORLD. LADIES, IF YOUR MAN IS NOT ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW YOU WANT HIM TO BE, THEN PUT THIS BOOK IN HIS HANDS. IT WILL CHANGE HIS LIFE. AND IF HIS LIFE IS CHANGED, THEN YOU STAND TO BENEFIT THE MOST.
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Summary: I THINK THE BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL
Review: I FIND THIS WAS A VERY INTERESTING BOOK AFTER I READ THE BOOK IT GAVE ME A LITTLE MOTIVATION AND HOPE THAT ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE IN THIS WORLD ESPECIALLY IN THE FIELD OF FINDING LOVE. I THINK THAT CHANNER IS A GREAT AUTHOR AND I ENJOY READING HIS WORK.
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Summary: Waiting for a sequel!
Review: Colin Channer is on his way! Tell all your friends to buy this book! Let's help this brother and author get to where he's destined to be- on top!
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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.
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Summary: A Feast for the Eyes and All Other Sensory Organs
Review: What makes Wainting in Vain so special is that Colin Channer gives melody, aroma, taste and substance to not only his characters but also to just about every object in his book. He takes the concept of a love story and amplifies it as he invites the reader to join him on a journey to the core of the souls of his characters while gently nudging the reader to soak in all the ambience along the way. He challenges the reader to look at familial, racial, cultural and societal dynamics in vivid color, sound and texture, but without preaching. He explores the nuances of his characters through both fast moving dialogue and the still-life of their quiet moments of contemplation. For these reasons, Waiting in Vain is an excellent book for reading aloud and sharing with your friends. Oprah -- are you listening?
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Summary: a love story perfectly told
Review: "Waiting in Vain" is a fiercely concentrated love story that was perfectly told. Ever believe in love at first sight? Believe it! This book brought characters to life and allows readers to travel from the Brooklyn promenade to a bungalow on the island of Jamaica without any air turbulence. It was like aphrodisiac reading this love story and I will never eat another mango the same way again. Love is alive and well in Mr. Channer's story. Bob Marley said "I don't want to wait in vain for your love" so don't wait to read this superbly imagined story of two hearts that was destined to beat as one. "Don't wait any longer"!!!
Rating:
Summary: refreshingly authentic and sensious
Review: This book dares to challenge the sterio typical caribbean male female relationships and the usual setting for such a story.The language is exciting and seasoned with lots of Jamaican scotch bonnet peppers, skellions and erotic and aphrodisiac herbs.To a love of reggae the book seems to be set to a sountrack of vintage reggae conjuring up images of latenight rub-a dub dances and girls girating and inviting sexual advances.The main character of the book Fire comes across as the new hero for the Jamaican male an educated sex symbol who is as comfortable on a lecture tour as he is on a footballfield or at a stage show with The cool ruler Gregory Isacs. I think this is a must read for every Caribbean male especially Jamaicans and I give it Nuff Bigg Ups. Mikie Bennett at mikeben @cwjamaica .com
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