Caribbean Languages and Societies Commons^™

Jamaica Novel Has Ring Of Truth. The Harder They Come By Michael Thelwell (Book Review), Daryl Cumber Dance

English Faculty Publications

In a recent interview, Michael Thelwell told of being present at a Caribbean Day celebration in New York attended by countless people with "a nostalgia for their country" and of his resultant resolve to give Jamaicans and their children something to read about themselves. In "The Harder They Come," Thelwell has more than achieved his goal, for the novel does not merely offer a bit of nostalgia for homesick Jamaicans; it is also a thrilling introduction to a culture and a people for the outsider.