Goree
2012 Longlist

Gorée: Point of Departure

artwork-image

ABOUT
THE BOOK

A chance encounter at Kennedy Airport with her ex-husband, Saliou Wade, takes Magdalene and their now adult daughter, Khadi, on a visit to him and his new family in Senegal. Magdalene is understandably nervous about the return, remembering the pain of the mutual cultural incomprehension – she is a St Lucian – that ended the marriage almost twenty years before; but Khadi refuses to go without her. In Senegal, whilst the now cosmopolitan Saliou appears to exist comfortably in multiple worlds, there are more complex relationships to manage with members of his large extended family. But the sensitivities are not merely social and cultural. A visit Khadi and her half-sister Maimouna make to the slave port of Gorée has consequences that lay bare unfinished business between West Indians and Africans, between Magdalene and Saliou, and Khadi and her parents. And when Khadi and Hassim, Saliou’s brother-in-law, are drawn together, those looking on must wonder whether history will repeat itself.

ABOUT
THE AUTHOR Angela
Barry

Bermudian by birth, Angela Barry lived abroad for more than 20 years – in England, France, The Gambia, Senegal and the Seychelles – before returning to Bermuda, where she worked as a lecturer until retiring in 2016. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, for which she worked on cross-cultural projects, reflecting her connections with the African diaspora. Her work has been published in journals including The Massachusetts Review, The Bermudian magazine, The Caribbean Writer and BIM: Arts for the 21rst Century. She is the author of Endangered Species and Other Stories (2002) and the novel, Goree: Point of Departure (2010). She is a contributor to the Commonwealth Writers anthology, So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific (2018) and also to New Daughters of Africa (2019). (from Peepal Tree Press)

Bermudian by birth, Angela Barry lived abroad for more than 20 years – in England, France, The Gambia, Senegal and the Seychelles – before returning to Bermuda, where she worked as a lecturer until retiring in 2016. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, for which she worked on cross-cultural projects, reflecting her connections with the African diaspora. Her work has been published in journals including The Massachusetts Review, The Bermudian magazine, The Caribbean Writer and BIM: Arts for the 21rst Century. She is the author of Endangered Species and Other Stories (2002) and the novel, Goree: Point of Departure (2010). She is a contributor to the Commonwealth Writers anthology, So Many Islands: Stories from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Pacific (2018) and also to New Daughters of Africa (2019). (from Peepal Tree Press)

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NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS

A thought provoking fictional treatment of the journey of two women of the African Diaspora. An interesting read.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Date published
01/01/2010
Country
Bermuda
Original Language
English
Author
Publisher
Peepal Tree Press Ltd.

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