Description
Book SynopsisThe only novel from the world-renowned writer C.L.R. James - this extraordinary, big-hearted exploration of class was the first novel by a black West Indian to be published in the UK
''A novel written nearly a hundred years ago that brings the past alive with such charm, vitality and humour.'' Bernardine Evaristo, from the Introduction
''As he walked home he looked up at the myriads of stars, shining in the moonlight. Did people live there? And if they did, what sort of life did they live?''
It is the 1920s in the Trinidadian capital, and Haynes'' world has been upended. His mother has passed away, and his carefully mapped-out future of gleaming opportunity has disappeared with her.
Unable to afford his former life, he finds himself moving into Minty Alley - a bustling barrack yard teeming with energy and a spectacular cast of characters. In this sliver of West Indian working-class society, outrageous love affairs and pa
Trade Review
Minty Alley provides a rich literary rendering of working-class life in colonial Trinidad . . . its rediscovery and republication is an important event * The Arts Desk *
Unforgettable . . . Groundbreaking -- Sam Jordinson * Guardian *
[Minty Alley] is funny, gossipy and meandering . . . James uses Haynes's shy silence as a space to be filled with each characters' rich backstory, creating a historical soap opera more often relayed directly in the characters' Trinidadian vernacular * Bad Form *
In this novel, ordinary people - in this case primarily Caribbean women - display the extraordinary creativity and persistence in the face of life's challenges that's exemplary of Caribbean culture. It is near impossible to fully appreciate the artistic and political merits of James' later work without having read Minty Alley's vivid description of Trinidadian subaltern life * Philosophy Now *
A novel written nearly a hundred years ago that brings the past alive with such charm, vitality and humour -- Bernardine Evaristo
Deservedly, James's work is undergoing a revival . . . The strength and value of the ordinary man is a through line in James's diverse body of work, and nowhere is this interest more evident than in Minty Alley * Paris Review *
Light-hearted, comic, occasionally sobering, always engrossing, the novel is a lovely and captivating read -- Bernadine Evaristo
'Ground-breaking... [A] fictional masterpiece * Trinidad and Tobago Newsday *
The book should be read by everyone who wishes to learn about early Caribbean life and who would like a deeper understanding of this author of masterpieces -- Fred DAguiar
