Rate this book

Het Huis Bij De Plantage (2009)

by Amanda Smyth(Favorite Author)

3.49 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Van Gennep

review 1: Another novel written by a Trini. I picked this one up at my last book club. I would be willing to read this author again when she comes out with a new book. She writes well and captures the essence of TT. There were a few confusing things, however, like trying to find this book so I could rate it on Goodreads. I guess the original title was Lime Trees Can't Bear Oranges. When I read the review, I realized it was the same book, and that the title had been changed to Black Rock when it came out in paperback. The other confusion was the timeframe of the story. Turns out it was set in the '50s, even though it seemed more like the '30s or the '40s to me. That said, this book is worth reading even if you're not all that interested in Trinidad and Tobago, which is why I... more gave it 4 stars.
review 2: Celia knows that her mother died in childbirth and that her father, a white Englishman, wanted nothing to do with her, but she daydreams about one day taking the long trip to Southampton, England, to track her father down. Surely once he meets her he’ll want to get to know her?When Celia has to deliver limes to Mrs Jeremiah, who is rumoured to be clairvoyant, she’s warned that she will be hurt by her Aunt’s husband Roman. Mrs Jeremiah also issues the following prophesy. “Men will want you like they want a glass of rum - to drink you up and pee you out. One man will love you. But you won’t love him. You will harm him. You will destroy his life. The one you love will break your heart in two. You’ll die in a foreign place”. She tosses Celia a lump of black rock to act as a talisman and Celia runs away as Mrs Jeremiah tries to exorcise her.When Mrs Jeremiah’s warning about Roman comes true, Celia flees Tobago. There she starts to rebuild her life helped by the kindness of a young man she meets on the boat who looks after her and finds her employment with an English family who live in Trinidad. Celia soon finds happiness - but how long will it last?I chose this book on my Book Spa day, because Amanda Smyth appeared at the Bath Literature Festival talking about this, her debut novel, and the shop’s owner, Nic said the book had been selling out as soon as it came in which is always encouraging. I liked the sound of it, plus the added benefit of it being eligible for one of my book challenges!The ‘blurb’ mentions a “vivid sense of the supernatural” but to my mind it was really more about local superstition. However, it was an enjoyable story and the writing style is easy to read and reasonably descriptive - I really felt a sense of the Islands. As a debut I thought it was very promising and I hope she writes more. less

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