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The Caribbean Book Club is now reading Somerset Grove by Dionne Peart. Click here to get your own copy and join in on the discussion on Facebook in the Caribbean Book Club Group. Subscribe to email updates to find out when we will be discussing the book with the author live via Google Hangout.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Three generations of the women in the Wright family all dream of leaving their home in a small Jamaican town, but each woman encounters obstacles and matters of the heart that keep her from living the life she wants. In varying ways, Somerset Grove explores inter-generational dissonance and its ability to overwhelm the individual will.
Somerset Grove by Dionne Peart is the story of Angelique, Ruby and Carmen. Traveling between the tropical heat of Jamaica and the cold promise of Canada Somerset Groove is an emotional and honest look at falling in love at a young age and how it can shape the narrative of an entire family history. Ruby, Angelique and Carmen – three generations of the Wright family play their roles with ease and assurance – all locked stepped in a psychological maze that deftly conceals personal angst and self-loathing.
Angelique, strong willed and adventurous, chooses between her daughter and opportunity as she contemplates leaving Carmen behind to move to Canada to pursue a career and bigger life. After experiencing heartbreak, proud matriarch Ruby is determined to see that no one ever has a reason to look down on her or her family, even if it means alienating the ones she loves. A young Carmen is torn between feelings of resentment and longing, as she strives to be independent while trying to build a relationship with her distant mother. At the right junctures, key questions are raised. Will Angelique’s love interest leave upon hearing that she is married? Will Carmen finally see her father, Clifton, as she waits and waits for his return? What secret is hidden inside the mansion that houses the influential Chambers family?
The lives of Ruby, Angelique and Carmen mirror each other. They are intertwined leaving little air for personal growth. Peart’s characters crave validation through the chimera of fancy houses, furniture, homes and social etiquette. Told with alternating points-of-view Somerset Grove shows how the Wright women solider on from generation-to-generation in an effort to move beyond wounds that never had a chance to heal.
Readers who enjoy Jamaican author Colin Channer (The Girl with the Golden Shoes) Elise Augstave (The Roving Tree) Lauren Francis Sharma (‘Til the Well Runs Dry) and other writers of Caribbean descent will appreciate the flavors and temperatures of Somerset Grove.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dionne L. Peart, a Jamaican descendant, was born in England and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She currently resides in Washington, DC where she practices law and is working on more books including Blackheart Man, a story based on a Jamaican legend where a string of tragedies on the island sparks the hunt for a young man with a questionable past. Dionne enjoys a spicy red snapper or a mango smoothie and enjoys writing and reading works that explore another time, place and culture. Two of her writing inspirations are Marlon James and Edwidge Danticat. The Jamaica Gleaner recognized Dionne as “part of an emerging genre of writing by Jamaicans in this society.” BET.com featured Somerset Grove on their “You Gotta Have It” list for January 2015.
