Julie Mango

For readers familiar with the writings of Samuel Selvon, V.S. Naipaul and Jamaica Kincaid this collection of short stories stands up to comparison. For others, Julie Mango is a fine introduction to islands of the Caribbean known for sun-filled beaches and lush vegetation. The author takes us to places of astonishing beauty and hard anguished lives. These islanders are like people anywhere who yearn to move beyond the limits of their horizons. They dream of making it in the larger world, as migrants, runaways, au pairs, go-getters or simply dreamers. The stories tell what happens when, with no experience of living away from home, their lives intersect with unfamiliar people in cold unfamiliar places. Book jacket.