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elenasquareeyes's review against another edition
2.0
Narrated by Robin Miles
Trigger warnings for rape, sexual assault, racism.
This is one of those books that I’m very glad I listened to the audiobook. The characters speak in creole and it’s something I find easier to understand when hearing it compared to reading it. A good 90% of the book is in that kind of vernacular as the characters talk a lot and describe events and places in great detail.
Even though I listened to the audiobook, I still found The Polished Hoe a bit of a slog to get through. The story takes place over one night as Mary Gertrude Mathilda gives her statement to the police Sergeant Percy. But her statement is more than the how and the why of the murder, it’s Mary Gertrude Mathilda’s life story and how it’s entwined with the history of the island. You don’t learn the how of the murder till the last couple of chapters but the reasons why Mary Gertrude Mathilda would commit murder is sprinkled throughout the story with the final reason that provokes her to finally act is revealed towards the end of the novel.
Mary Gertrude Mathilda grew up on a plantation, working in the fields, then in the kitchen as she got older. She was also repeatedly raped by Mr Belfeels, the plantation owner. The descriptions of their encounters and the assaults she experienced are vivid, but she also recounts them in such a matter of fact way that there’s a distance there too. Even as an adolescent she knows what is happening to her is wrong, but she also knows there’s nothing she can say or do to make it stop.
There are also long sections from Percy’s point of view. He’s been infatuated with Mary Gertrude Mathilda since he was a teenager and he struggles to put his fantasies aside when he’s with her, listening to her story. They are both well-written and well-developed characters, full of contradictions and flaws and aspirations. There is a long history between them and they each delve into a different part of it at different times throughout the book. You get the sense of how their friendship could’ve been much stronger if there wasn’t the issue of perceived class that divided them – Mary Gertrude Mathilda is well respected in the community because of her connection to Mr Belfeels while Percy is just a police officer, even if he is the Sergeant.
It was hard to follow the general plot of The Polished Hoe and both Mary Gertrude Mathilda’s and Percy’s trains of thought in the novel. While the story takes place over one night, they recount historic events and how it’s affected them both and the islands inhabitants. The story meanders from different times and places and jumps back and forth from different points and ideas. The writing definitely captured how people speak as Mary Gertrude Mathilda would start talking about one thing and then that would inspire her to go onto another topic before circling back around to finish what she was originally saying.
The Polished Hoe is well-written but while the characters are well-defined, the actual plot is thin on the ground and it’s more about two characters reminiscing about their experiences. It has a lot of detail of what life on a plantation is like and covers tough topics like racism, slavery, rape and white privilege but those themes, while obviously important, aren’t enough to make an engaging story. I kept reading The Polished Hoe because it was an audiobook (so it was easy) and because I wanted to know what Mary Gertrude Mathilda had actually done and what was the repercussions but unfortunately not all of those questions were answered in a satisfactory way or at all.
Trigger warnings for rape, sexual assault, racism.
This is one of those books that I’m very glad I listened to the audiobook. The characters speak in creole and it’s something I find easier to understand when hearing it compared to reading it. A good 90% of the book is in that kind of vernacular as the characters talk a lot and describe events and places in great detail.
Even though I listened to the audiobook, I still found The Polished Hoe a bit of a slog to get through. The story takes place over one night as Mary Gertrude Mathilda gives her statement to the police Sergeant Percy. But her statement is more than the how and the why of the murder, it’s Mary Gertrude Mathilda’s life story and how it’s entwined with the history of the island. You don’t learn the how of the murder till the last couple of chapters but the reasons why Mary Gertrude Mathilda would commit murder is sprinkled throughout the story with the final reason that provokes her to finally act is revealed towards the end of the novel.
Mary Gertrude Mathilda grew up on a plantation, working in the fields, then in the kitchen as she got older. She was also repeatedly raped by Mr Belfeels, the plantation owner. The descriptions of their encounters and the assaults she experienced are vivid, but she also recounts them in such a matter of fact way that there’s a distance there too. Even as an adolescent she knows what is happening to her is wrong, but she also knows there’s nothing she can say or do to make it stop.
There are also long sections from Percy’s point of view. He’s been infatuated with Mary Gertrude Mathilda since he was a teenager and he struggles to put his fantasies aside when he’s with her, listening to her story. They are both well-written and well-developed characters, full of contradictions and flaws and aspirations. There is a long history between them and they each delve into a different part of it at different times throughout the book. You get the sense of how their friendship could’ve been much stronger if there wasn’t the issue of perceived class that divided them – Mary Gertrude Mathilda is well respected in the community because of her connection to Mr Belfeels while Percy is just a police officer, even if he is the Sergeant.
It was hard to follow the general plot of The Polished Hoe and both Mary Gertrude Mathilda’s and Percy’s trains of thought in the novel. While the story takes place over one night, they recount historic events and how it’s affected them both and the islands inhabitants. The story meanders from different times and places and jumps back and forth from different points and ideas. The writing definitely captured how people speak as Mary Gertrude Mathilda would start talking about one thing and then that would inspire her to go onto another topic before circling back around to finish what she was originally saying.
The Polished Hoe is well-written but while the characters are well-defined, the actual plot is thin on the ground and it’s more about two characters reminiscing about their experiences. It has a lot of detail of what life on a plantation is like and covers tough topics like racism, slavery, rape and white privilege but those themes, while obviously important, aren’t enough to make an engaging story. I kept reading The Polished Hoe because it was an audiobook (so it was easy) and because I wanted to know what Mary Gertrude Mathilda had actually done and what was the repercussions but unfortunately not all of those questions were answered in a satisfactory way or at all.
jacobinreads's review against another edition
5.0
"There is a time when your past takes over you, and takes over your present"."
A magnificent story, earthy, and painful. The history of Bimshire mingles with that of the characters, compelling them through the unpretentious, tragic drama of their lives.
As Miss Mary Gentrude Mathilda says, the stories of the "Wessindies" are just as much important of any other tale. This is a Shakespearean tale in twenty-four hours, told in the dialect of the Caribbean, with Clarke's poetic narration only complementing the voices of the characters themselves. This book is filled with twists and turns, flights of fantasy, and real, lived-in colonial pain.
A magnificent story, earthy, and painful. The history of Bimshire mingles with that of the characters, compelling them through the unpretentious, tragic drama of their lives.
As Miss Mary Gentrude Mathilda says, the stories of the "Wessindies" are just as much important of any other tale. This is a Shakespearean tale in twenty-four hours, told in the dialect of the Caribbean, with Clarke's poetic narration only complementing the voices of the characters themselves. This book is filled with twists and turns, flights of fantasy, and real, lived-in colonial pain.
kimreadbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I have never been to the island of Barbados but the writing in this book is so vivid I feel like I have. Although it took me a while to read (mostly because I had a digital copy and I had to wait on my replacement eReader), it wasn't boring to me. I enjoyed all the stories within the story and the vibe it gave me was as if I was laying in bed with my granny while she tell me stories about back in her day.
philjames's review against another edition
3.0
Over the space of one night a woman gives her confession to the policeman she’s known from childhood. Slowly the history of the island sugarcane plantation, slavery and intertwined, incestuous, ambiguous relationships come to light.
jenniferd1057f's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
yawnsbooks's review against another edition
The narration style, which is a conversation between two characters, was not for me. Quit reading after page 35.
viveelan's review against another edition
2.0
I really want my review of this book to do it justice. I have owned this book for almost 20 years and it had a place of honor on my bookshelves. I finally read it. The author's literary skill is unquestioned. The book was well written with some very literate thoughts and passages. The characters were quite well developed. The style was very reminiscent of the style of Dolores Claiborne, in which the whole story is told by Dolores giving her statement to the police. Throughout the whole book it only Delores' voice that we hear. Stephen King should have won many accolades for that accomplishment. That book was amazing. This book felt like a failed attempt to mimick that style using Mary Mathilda giving her statement to either the constable or finally Percy, the Sargent. It didn't
work. In The Polished Hoe, the author got wordy, repeated stories and the characters got lost in their own imaginings and sexual fantasies making the book, at times, confusing and at other times incredibly boring.
One thing that I hate is when authors take liberties with facts that can be easily checked out. Once you get something so wrong I don't want to give you a second chance. Buffalo chicken wings didn't exist until the mid to late 1960s not post World War II. In addition, the Great Lake near Buffalo is Lake Erie not Lake Superior. These minor irritations along with copying Mr. King annoyed me and took away some of the credibility of the novel.
It was a sad, sad story, slave story. How horrible human beings can be to each other and how justice is in the eyes of the powerful. The dialect is lovely and the history and stories of the island were interesting including how the police kept an eye on Nazi's, u-boats and spying. I loved the justness of her crime. The using of the hoe, her cherished tool, that was the symbol of her labor, toil and slavery, to uproot the weed that was the bane of her existence. The whole unrequited, unable to act upon love story between Mary Mathilda and Percy was painful and poignant. The horror of having your only child at the hands of your probable father unfathomable. I found the relationships between the grandmother and mother and Mary Mathilda to be incredible powerful relationships fraught with struggle and pain on so many levels yet bound together by love and survival.
How can all that good get mired in words that make it a struggle to get through? Is that the lack of a good editor? I stuck with it because I wanted it to get better, (SPOILER ALERT) I wanted to see what she actually did (last three pages) and I wanted to see what happened to her after (no), many possibilities were explored and yet Percy takes her away (what?) and I wanted to see if Percy and her finally did "it" (no). I really wanted to like it and I wanted to be fair. There are many good points to this book but, ugh, I'm donating it and I'm not asking any of my friends to read it. What does that tell you? So, even though I could rate it as high as a 2.5-2.75 I cannot get to three stars.
work. In The Polished Hoe, the author got wordy, repeated stories and the characters got lost in their own imaginings and sexual fantasies making the book, at times, confusing and at other times incredibly boring.
One thing that I hate is when authors take liberties with facts that can be easily checked out. Once you get something so wrong I don't want to give you a second chance. Buffalo chicken wings didn't exist until the mid to late 1960s not post World War II. In addition, the Great Lake near Buffalo is Lake Erie not Lake Superior. These minor irritations along with copying Mr. King annoyed me and took away some of the credibility of the novel.
It was a sad, sad story, slave story. How horrible human beings can be to each other and how justice is in the eyes of the powerful. The dialect is lovely and the history and stories of the island were interesting including how the police kept an eye on Nazi's, u-boats and spying. I loved the justness of her crime. The using of the hoe, her cherished tool, that was the symbol of her labor, toil and slavery, to uproot the weed that was the bane of her existence. The whole unrequited, unable to act upon love story between Mary Mathilda and Percy was painful and poignant. The horror of having your only child at the hands of your probable father unfathomable. I found the relationships between the grandmother and mother and Mary Mathilda to be incredible powerful relationships fraught with struggle and pain on so many levels yet bound together by love and survival.
How can all that good get mired in words that make it a struggle to get through? Is that the lack of a good editor? I stuck with it because I wanted it to get better, (SPOILER ALERT) I wanted to see what she actually did (last three pages) and I wanted to see what happened to her after (no), many possibilities were explored and yet Percy takes her away (what?) and I wanted to see if Percy and her finally did "it" (no). I really wanted to like it and I wanted to be fair. There are many good points to this book but, ugh, I'm donating it and I'm not asking any of my friends to read it. What does that tell you? So, even though I could rate it as high as a 2.5-2.75 I cannot get to three stars.
bookwormadventuregirl's review against another edition
3.0
For my full review, please see the link below:
https://www.bookwormadventuregirl.com/post/the-polished-hoe-by-austin-clarke
https://www.bookwormadventuregirl.com/post/the-polished-hoe-by-austin-clarke
memoirsofabooknerd's review against another edition
1.0
If I could give this a 0 stars rating, I would. This is hands down the worst book I have ever read. I almost couldn't finish it. It was incredibly difficult to get through both in how it was written (no chapters and no logical place to leave off and continue later) and in content (the entire book is a single conversation with tedious amounts of repetitive reminiscing). So painful to read. I don't even have words.