Book Review : Fictions by Ruel Johnson
[This review was never published but shared with Ruel ]
This is Ruel Johnson's second book of short fiction and it claims to
be an "interrogation in the lives of Guyana's Generation X. The book
has 10 pieces of short fiction which are meant to examine "..issues of
racial mistrust, individual alienation, exile and return.." Ruel's
introduction complains of the authenticity of Guyanese literature and
criticises those who write from outside of Guyana/the Caribbean and
who are regarded as authentic voices of literature.
The first piece, CCLE a personal journal is a diary of notes which
refer to a trip to Canada. Those who know Ruel would assume that this
is an autobiographical piece which made no sense. Rambling notes are
entertaining. The descriptions were a bit tedious of places and
characters and situations - and the reference to the 'Asian' man was
interesting, most Guyanese writing authentically from Guyana would
have said 'chinee man'.
The second piece , the Last Affair is about a man's ending of his
marriage. This is a fascinating piece because it reflects some of the
turmoil which goes through the ending of many relationships. The
desperation in the litany about " i have a six inch.. ' is honest and
the use of spaces, the report at Albertown Police Station etc are
innovative pieces which help to make the story interesting.
The Hawk is a short piece on observations of the Hawk in Georgetown,
and this would be familiar to people living in Guyana. Another story
of the Snail Hawk in Robert Fernandes' Short and Sweet was also
enjoyable, and it is interesting that these two books have stories of
Hawks.
Music and Lyrics used the text of a chat window to tell a story -
perhaps the closest thing to come to Generation X experiences in the
book. This was entertaining and refreshing, since there are many ways
to tell a story and readers could make what they want out of dialogues
which have no surrounding context. This reminds me of Ernest
Hemmingway's complete short story which is "For sale : Baby shoes,
never worn"
The Assassin seems to refer to one of Guyana's dark moment's in
history, the assasination of Dr Walter Rodney and I wondered again
what impact this story had on Generation X in Guyana and whether
Generation X knows or cares about Walter Rodney enough. The story had
no real plot and it rambled. The Aviary talks about racial mistrust
and while inter-racial relationships allegedly still inspire anger
apparently, one wonders whether Generation X still is angered or
concerned about black men having sex with indian women. The story of
Thief is Guyanese - mob violence and rage at people on edge during
periods of high crimie. The story ' Apres le Deluge ' seemed
incomplete.. it rambled a bit and then the connections between
drowning in blue waters and the 2005 Floods in Guyana are good.
The book is peppered with classical references throughout, and these
seem to be cliche in themselves ('Reubenesque beauty"). Would
authentic Guyanese writers ever develop their own metaphors ('Winslow
Craig-esque beauty'?) The last story Cumae is apparently a metaphor on
an aspect of Greek mythology, and perhaps only the very well read of
Generation X and the readers in Guyana would understand the metaphor.
The trouble with this kind of story, is that as a Guyanese reading it,
there is a certain frustration at why the story teller attempts to
fictionalise Georgetown and Guyana and the 'necrosis' . This story is
inventive, but the writer runs the risk of being obscure if his
reader does not care about the underworld and death as portrayed in
Greek mythology,
Fictions is a brave addition to the collection of short stories from
Guyana. It was good that Ruel did not dwell too much on the "..issues
of racial mistrust, individual alienation, exile and return." which
are allegedly also dealt with by many of the Caribbean writers who
live abroad. Ruel has great imagination and has dealt with many topics
which would not be covered by other writers. However, the stories did
not live up to the expectations, but I still look forward to Fictions
2 to see whether we could get any insights into the lives of Guyana's
generation X.
This is Ruel Johnson's second book of short fiction and it claims to
be an "interrogation in the lives of Guyana's Generation X. The book
has 10 pieces of short fiction which are meant to examine "..issues of
racial mistrust, individual alienation, exile and return.." Ruel's
introduction complains of the authenticity of Guyanese literature and
criticises those who write from outside of Guyana/the Caribbean and
who are regarded as authentic voices of literature.
The first piece, CCLE a personal journal is a diary of notes which
refer to a trip to Canada. Those who know Ruel would assume that this
is an autobiographical piece which made no sense. Rambling notes are
entertaining. The descriptions were a bit tedious of places and
characters and situations - and the reference to the 'Asian' man was
interesting, most Guyanese writing authentically from Guyana would
have said 'chinee man'.
The second piece , the Last Affair is about a man's ending of his
marriage. This is a fascinating piece because it reflects some of the
turmoil which goes through the ending of many relationships. The
desperation in the litany about " i have a six inch.. ' is honest and
the use of spaces, the report at Albertown Police Station etc are
innovative pieces which help to make the story interesting.
The Hawk is a short piece on observations of the Hawk in Georgetown,
and this would be familiar to people living in Guyana. Another story
of the Snail Hawk in Robert Fernandes' Short and Sweet was also
enjoyable, and it is interesting that these two books have stories of
Hawks.
Music and Lyrics used the text of a chat window to tell a story -
perhaps the closest thing to come to Generation X experiences in the
book. This was entertaining and refreshing, since there are many ways
to tell a story and readers could make what they want out of dialogues
which have no surrounding context. This reminds me of Ernest
Hemmingway's complete short story which is "For sale : Baby shoes,
never worn"
The Assassin seems to refer to one of Guyana's dark moment's in
history, the assasination of Dr Walter Rodney and I wondered again
what impact this story had on Generation X in Guyana and whether
Generation X knows or cares about Walter Rodney enough. The story had
no real plot and it rambled. The Aviary talks about racial mistrust
and while inter-racial relationships allegedly still inspire anger
apparently, one wonders whether Generation X still is angered or
concerned about black men having sex with indian women. The story of
Thief is Guyanese - mob violence and rage at people on edge during
periods of high crimie. The story ' Apres le Deluge ' seemed
incomplete.. it rambled a bit and then the connections between
drowning in blue waters and the 2005 Floods in Guyana are good.
The book is peppered with classical references throughout, and these
seem to be cliche in themselves ('Reubenesque beauty"). Would
authentic Guyanese writers ever develop their own metaphors ('Winslow
Craig-esque beauty'?) The last story Cumae is apparently a metaphor on
an aspect of Greek mythology, and perhaps only the very well read of
Generation X and the readers in Guyana would understand the metaphor.
The trouble with this kind of story, is that as a Guyanese reading it,
there is a certain frustration at why the story teller attempts to
fictionalise Georgetown and Guyana and the 'necrosis' . This story is
inventive, but the writer runs the risk of being obscure if his
reader does not care about the underworld and death as portrayed in
Greek mythology,
Fictions is a brave addition to the collection of short stories from
Guyana. It was good that Ruel did not dwell too much on the "..issues
of racial mistrust, individual alienation, exile and return." which
are allegedly also dealt with by many of the Caribbean writers who
live abroad. Ruel has great imagination and has dealt with many topics
which would not be covered by other writers. However, the stories did
not live up to the expectations, but I still look forward to Fictions
2 to see whether we could get any insights into the lives of Guyana's
generation X.
Comments
Post a Comment