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1Fullmoonblue
I like stories that feature voyages, particularly ocean-crossings.
Recently I read Continental Drift by Russell Banks and was blown away. The story features a married father from the Northeast U.S. moving his family south to Florida, while two Haitians brave the Caribbean in an attempt to get there too. Banks manages to weave themes, and eventually the characters' stories, together in a way that completely drew me in.
Then, joining this group made me think about maybe comparing Banks' novel to Small Island by Andrea Levy, which deals with Jamaican characters moving to WWII era England. Meanwhile, a British couple deal with the war and, as in Continental Drift, the characters' experiences draw them into the same story.
Has anybody else read either of these?
Or can anyone recommend other stories on the theme of ocean-crossings (and/or migration, interracial issues, alienation and modernity...?)
Recently I read Continental Drift by Russell Banks and was blown away. The story features a married father from the Northeast U.S. moving his family south to Florida, while two Haitians brave the Caribbean in an attempt to get there too. Banks manages to weave themes, and eventually the characters' stories, together in a way that completely drew me in.
Then, joining this group made me think about maybe comparing Banks' novel to Small Island by Andrea Levy, which deals with Jamaican characters moving to WWII era England. Meanwhile, a British couple deal with the war and, as in Continental Drift, the characters' experiences draw them into the same story.
Has anybody else read either of these?
Or can anyone recommend other stories on the theme of ocean-crossings (and/or migration, interracial issues, alienation and modernity...?)
2Nickelini
I haven't read those, but they sound interesting. Are you aware of the Reading Globally group? You can find us at:
http://www.librarything.com/groups/readinggloballyficti
We're doing a theme read on immigration in June, and there is an active thread talking about immigration in literature.
http://www.librarything.com/groups/readinggloballyficti
We're doing a theme read on immigration in June, and there is an active thread talking about immigration in literature.
3Fullmoonblue
Wow, thanks for the tip!!
4margad
Thanks to both of you. I'm very interested in the immigration theme, because I've been researching my ancestors who migrated from Germany to Texas around 1850. Ship voyages then were not easy - the risk level was perhaps not as high as the Haitians experienced trying to reach Florida in boats that weren't really big enough, but it was by no means certain that every ship would arrive safely. One set of my ancestors were shipwrecked on Galveston Island, lost everything they had, and were marooned for several days before another ship picked them up.
There is a wonderfully vivid and accurate description of a ship crossing during that era in Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace.
There is a wonderfully vivid and accurate description of a ship crossing during that era in Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace.
