Clare Yearwood lives in Nevis and is presently serializing and reading books on WinnFM. “Lucy” by Jamaica Kincaid, the well-known Antiguan authoress, is the first book in the series. The programme is called “Off the Shelf” and can be heard on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 7.30 p.m. and on Sundays at 5.00 p.m., three back-to-back episodes can be heard. Clare will be reviewing some ‘good read’ books for Kittivisian Life.

“Lucy” by Jamaica Kincaid
Lucy is 19; a vinegary, quick-tongued au pair who has left behind her island girlhood in the West Indies for a fierce awakening in New York City. At first she is dazzled by her employers and their four daughters. But soon Lucy begins to notice cracks appearing in this beautiful façade. Lucy begins to unravel the mysteries of her own sexuality, her relationship with her mother and her past.

Beautifully precise prose… written by a ferociously honest woman. This book will evoke many memories for a good many people, and many a tear will be shed amongst the laughter.

“Wuthering Heights”
by Emily Bronte The setting is the wilds of the Yorkshire moors in England in the year 1801.

Heathcliff, an orphan, is raised by Mr. Earnshaw as one of his own children. Hindley despises him, but wild Cathy becomes his constant companion and he falls madly in love with her. When she will not marry him, Heathcliff’s terrible vengeance ruins them all, but still his and Cathy’s love will not die.

There is nothing like a good romp of an old classical novel. A deeply romantic, haunting and atmospheric book, with such lines as: “You asked, what has driven me to flight at last? I was compelled to attempt it, because I had succeeded in rousing his rage a pitch above his malignity. Pulling out the nerves with red hot pincers, requires more coolness than knocking on the head.”

“The Final Passage” Caryl Phillips
This is Caryl Phillips’, a son of the soil, remarkable first novel. The novel deals with the mass upheaval of the great emigration from the Caribbean in the 1950s, and its impact on British society. At the centre of the narrative is the personal story of Leila. Her struggles on a small Caribbean island drive her to England, a country she has only heard about in storybooks. Her increasing despair begins to take its toll on her state of mind.

Once I lifted “Final Passage” off my shelf, I could not put it down, so I suggest that you do not read this book in bed! He writes so movingly and truthfully about real people and their relationships. His prose is magnificent and he uses his words sparingly and to great effect. A must read; I learnt so much from this very powerful book.

“Perfume” by Patrick Suskind
The story of a murderer; born in sweaty, fetid eighteenth-century Paris, Grenouille is distinctive even in infancy. He has the “finest nose in Paris and no personal odour.” This rattling good narrative is an exercise in the chilling surreal and allows the reader to prowl the fetid streets and alleys of Paris. Patrick Suskind writes with wit and style. Not to be read by the faint-hearted!

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