A review by nini23
Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-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

4.75

Gorgeously told tale of a few generations of a family living on the US Virgin Islands of St Thomas.  Changing hands from the Danish West Indies to the US Virgin Islands in 1917, Land of Love and Drowning traces St Thomas going through tumultuous years of transformation including contributing soldiers for the war, the invasion of hotel resorts, racist treatment on the mainland, hurricane Mary, the fight for locals' access to beach lines.  Intertwined in this historical fiction is island mythology and folklore some from Anegada of the Duene, of Anansi, witches, soucouyant, obeah.  The matrilineal heritage of traits and outcomes was particularly fascinating.  As for the incest that everyone is cringing from, I think it's logical that there would be a common practice of intermarriage and sex within families especially in the earlier years when the islands were fairly isolated.  There's a sense of fable and fatalism in all this within the Bradshaw and McKenzie and Stemme families.

The author's note at the end sharing her own personal family history especially of accompanying her grandmother to Anegada to visit her great-great-grandmother's grave was v poignant.  Tiphanie Yanique is a very talented storyteller and writer, I especially loved her Anette's voice in island lingo.  She had me spellbound for the 350+ pages, transported to Villa By The Sea, the beach where Antoinette taught her baby Anette to swim, Flash of Beauty on Anegada, the big island lime at the Gull Reef Club, the swim-in bacchanals of BOMB.  Incredibly magical.  I will be searching for more of her writing in her book released this year Monster In The Middle.
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