A review by jacobinreads
The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke

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.