In the Castle of My Skin (Penguin Modern Classics)

I had read that George Lamming's In The Castle of My Skin was a classic of Caribbean literature, so I bought the Kindle version to see for myself. It's not a novel that one would read for entertainment, but rather to learn something about a part of the world that few Americans know much about. The novel describes life in the 1930s and 1940s in colonial Barbados. I could not interpret many of the metaphors the author used, and the motives behind some events are hard to understand. Nevertheless, the novel succeeded in giving at least one reader (myself) a glimpse into a different society and into the frustrations that the Euro-American world order causes to people who have no say in it.

I had to read this book for a class, so while I would have put it down had I been reading it on my own, I ended up pushing through. And I actually kind of liked it. It was slow and dense, but I found myself wanting to know what would happen next and I enjoyed some of the characters. It was certainly nice to experience a novel outside my normal genres and I definitely learned more about the colonialism and culture of Barbados.

Anyone who wishes to gain a solid understanding of Caribbean culture should read this book, especially those who would not be familiar with the old-time way of life depicted in the story. I did find that at first I wasn't clear on how the book was coming across and wasn't until almost half-way that I started catching on. The way the book is written does paint a very vivid picture of the lives of two sets of people: an old couple and some young boys.

Loved it.

Great quality came brand new

Bought as a gift. Had to get this as a replacement. No complaints. Very informative and captivating and an eye opener. A Must Read!

I enjoyed it

Perfect.

A classic - dense and lyrical, nuanced and political. Clever stuff - a book to come back to again and again. Fabulous writing. For the literature student or creative writing student, lots of stylistic ideas to inspire your own writing.

Well written but difficult writing style

A masterpiece of writing - I am reading all his work now.

Un bel testo, molto lontano dagli schemi narrativi occidentali, in quanto mostra la bellezza della varietà e della fluidità del paesaggio caraibico, in particolare della 'Little England' che è stata Barbados. Lamming ritrae un mondo variopinto e luminoso, anche quando si tinge della macchia coloniale. Lo consiglio decisamente.I found this novel very interesting, since it challenges the narrative concepts of Western literary tradition. It shows the beautiful variety and fluidity of Carribean landscapes, specifically of Barbados, the so-called Little England. Lammings paints a varied and luminous world, even when shadowed by the taint of colonial domination and submission. Definitely worth-reading.

Deep read