Black Issues Book Review
September 2000; used with permission

A Small Place / Book Review
By Milca Esdaille

A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid

There are places worth revisiting, not to relive joyful memories, but to allow for the catharsis that comes from exposing festering wounds so that cleansing, and perhaps healing, can begin. This is the kind of journey Jamaica Kincaid allows us to witness. In this essay, originally published in 1988 and recently released in paperback, she takes us behind idyllic countrysides and sun-kissed beaches to examine the underbelly of life in Antigua, the tiny island in the West Indies where she grew up. It is a place she lovingly describes as "too beautiful. But Antigua also elicits bitter memories for our tour guide, who makes it clear she has an ax to grind in this short but powerful Billy club of a book.

In masterfully lucid language her anger is laid bare. What makes A Small Place bigger than just a delicious rant by a skilled wordsmith is that Antigua is a microcosm. Those of Caribbean descent from the many islands and landlocked places where corrupt politicians and greedy businessmen flout natural and civil laws to amass power and fortune, will be touched by Kincaid's rendering because it is all too familiar. Long time fans will recognize the Kincaid touch as she weaves words the way a sorcerer weaves spells, imbuing ordinary language with extraordinarily textured and multi-layered meaning. As with her works of fiction, she will draw you into her world, and you will emerge not quite the same way you went in.