Red Jacket - Softcover

Mordecai, Pamela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1459729404 ISBN 13: 9781459729407

Publisher: TAP Books, 2015

Synopsis

Growing up as part of a large, loving family on the Caribbean island of St. Chris, Grace Carpenter is happy but puzzled about her identity. Although the rest of her extended family is black, she is a "redibo," with copper-coloured skin, freckles, reddish hair, and grey eyes. Sometimes she gets called names, but the question of why she is "different" is never explained. As this masterful novel unfolds, we gradually learn the story of Grace's birth mother, just a teenager herself, and why Grace was adopted by the Carpenters. As she grows and prospers, she is still plagued by the mystery surrounding her birth and a yearning to understand her heritage and who she truly is.

About this title

Review:

If there is a smelting room of the English language, if there is an iron table where syntax and breath are shone, here is where Pam Mordecai works her glittering materials. (Dionne Brand, Griffin Poetry Award–winning author of Ossuaries)

This exceptional story of one woman's education, career, and motherhood ... Grace's story of a rise from humble beginnings may feel familiar, but Mordecai never allows it to become cliched. (Publishers Weekly)

For those attuned to a Caribbean literary tradition and to women’s writing in particular, the echoes of Paule Marshall’s Daughters, Merle Hodge’s Crick Crack and even Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea will most certainly be heard in Mordecai’s book. (Herizons)

A compelling tale of faith and family, ranging from the dusty landscapes of West Africa to the rich flavours of the Caribbean. Pamela Mordecai has made the transition from poetry to prose with an enviable ease. (Will Ferguson, Giller Prize–winning author of 419)

Red Jacket is successful in that it holds the reader's attention from start to finish and invites us to reflect on many issues that assail us. It is a significant fictional accomplishment. (Maple Tree Literary Supplement)

A rich and compelling tale about the agony of being made to feel different and the elusiveness of belonging. (Rachel Manley, Governor General's Award–winning author of the Drumblair trilogy)

For those attuned to a Caribbean literary tradition and women’s writing in particular, the echoes of Paule Marshall’s Daughters, Merle Hodge’s Crick Crack, Monkey, and even Jean Rhys’s Wild Sargasso Sea will most certainly be heard in Mordecai’s latest work. (Ottawareviewofbooks.com)

Canadian poet Pamela Mordecai’s first novel moves from the warmth of the Caribbean to the chill of Canada and then to the deserts of West Africa. Fans of Caribbean literature and readers who enjoy sagas of misfortune may find this book captivating. (Library Journal)

Pamela Mordecai is a fearsomely ingenious writer, whose ear for language is equalled by her huge heart’s humanity. (George Elliott Clarke, Governor General's Award–winning author of Execution Poems)

...Red Jacket is an accomplished, intelligent novel...to be savoured for its multiple layers of meaning and―especially―its richness of language. (Quill & Quire)

About the Author:

Pamela Mordecai was born in Jamaica. She has published five collections of poetry and an anthology of short fiction. She has also written many textbooks and edited or co-edited groundbreaking anthologies of Caribbean writing. Her poetry for children is widely anthologized. Her poems have been shortlisted for the Canada Writes CBC Poetry Prize and the Bridport Prize (U.K.). She is the recipient of the Institute of Jamaica’s Centenary and Bronze Musgrave Medals, the Vic Reid Award for Children’s Writing, and the Burla Award. Pamela lives in Kitchener.

About this edition

• Publisher: TAP Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1459729404
• ISBN 13: 9781459729407
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464