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Roger Mais (1905–1955)

Autore di Brother Man (Caribbean Writers Series ; 10)

6+ opere 104 membri 6 recensioni 2 preferito

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Mais spoke for the dispossessed black community of Jamaica. His novel "The Hills Were Joyful Together" (1953) is a devastating portrait of degradation and violence that uses a complicated symbolic structure. Set in a tenement yard in Kingston, the work focuses on a multitude of characters and their mostra altro struggle merely to exist. In 1952, Mais left Jamaica, perhaps because of the negative reaction to the social voice in his work. The works published after he left his native country continue his preoccupation with the social constrictions of his time, and they show a growing tension between the concept of the artist's duty and the notion of the individual artistic conscience. (Bowker Author Biography) mostra meno

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Informazioni generali

Data di nascita
1905-08-11
Data di morte
1955
Sesso
male
Nazionalità
Jamaica
Luogo di nascita
Kingston, Jamaica
Luogo di residenza
Kingston, Jamaica
Premi e riconoscimenti
Order of Jamaica, 1978

Utenti

Recensioni

By golly this book is unrelieved in its grimness. Reminiscent in style to Steinbeck but with no real relief. The characters are trapped in their narrative and so are you. I read half the novel and couldn’t bring myself to continue.
 
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adrianburke | 2 altre recensioni | Sep 7, 2022 |
The Hills Were Joyful Together, Roger Mais’ first novel, displays the promise exhibited by his later works. Taking place in a Kingston yard complex, Mais explores the challenges of Jamaica’s urban working class. The novel can be brutal and violent, yet there are notes of redemption along with a strain of social criticism throughout. The novel centers around the life of a neighborhood with subplots focusing on the emotional life of disempowered teenagers, a man cuckolded by his wife, the hard, mundane existence of women, and other vignettes. The second part of the novel coalesces on challenges faced by the character Surjue. Confined to prison as the result of a botched robbery, Serjue adjust to prison life while working to be reunited with his wife. The second part of the novel also shifts with the introduction of a Greek like chorus which Mais continued to use as a device in his novel Brother Man. The work feels full of this type of experimentation, and the introduction states that Mais was originally planning for the novel to be a trilogy. Mais seeks to show and encompass the full life of a Jamaican neighborhood, and with this, the full range of experience and emotion experienced by its denizens. Although there are many instances of kindness and reliance built by community bonds, there is also a strong note of futility. The social condition drives people to extremes and madness. Mais also critiques the various solutions sought after by the people with a hint of disdain at organized religion, communism, and the corruption of bureaucracies. Seemingly one note of hope is the idea of escape, off the island, where enemies and the cruel madness of life can’t reach a person. The other idea signalling that all is not lost is that, despite the cruelty we wreck upon each other, ultimately we will find salvation in each other as well.… (altro)
 
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brianjungwi | 2 altre recensioni | Jul 21, 2014 |
Roger Mais’ Brother Man is a striking novel. Published in 1954, the story focuses on Brother Man and his neighborhood lane in Kingston, Jamaica. The novel is notable for its sympathetic treatment of Rastafarianism during a time when the movement was marginalized and misunderstood by Jamaican society. This edition’s introduction notes the play of language throughout the novel, asserting a jazz like quality to the rapid dialogue written in Jamaican patois.

Language here along with the setting roots the book in social realism which later transcends into a magical realism as Brother Man engages with his community. The novel is centered on this engagement. Brother Man is a Rastafarian, a deeply spiritual man, Bodhisattva-like (or with the novel’s imagery, Christ-like), who functions as a healer in his community. The major subplot focuses on the relationship between Girlie and Papacita who are engaged in an abusive relationship. Mais writes Girlie’s character with a vibrant energy, the language becoming physical and her scenes memorable. Papacita, a crook, represents the opposite of Brother Man. He’s a leech on society and spends much of his time trying to lure away Minette, a woman with a deep emotional bond with Brother Man. Papacita works to undermine Brother Man and his machinations along with a violent turn against Rastafarians in Kingston lead to Brother Man’s vicious beating.

Mais engages with many overt religious themes throughout the novel. Brother Man is a healer and deeply religious man, but not the only Rastafarian in the book. Another man, who practices obeah, lures one of Brother Man’s flock away. Portrayed as money loving, as opposed to the unmaterialistic Brother Man, the obeah practices are described as dark rituals leading to downfall. Brother Man is closely associated with Christianity. His character performs miraculous healing and in the end sacrifices himself to society, allowing a mob to expiate themselves with his blood-letting. The imagery becomes almost heavy handed as Brother Man’s apparent death is overcome after a three convalescence from which he rises.

Brother Man is a novel that borders on tragedy. Life is hard and violent, each character has experienced the pains of life. Mais focuses on the working class aspirations, fears, and their struggles to make ends meet. Papacita and Brother Man both rise together, given divergent paths based on our worst and our best impulses. Mais ends on a note of hope despite the harsh realities he portrays making Brother Man a blend of historical, social, and ultimately moral novel.
… (altro)
 
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brianjungwi | Jul 12, 2014 |
Black Lightning by Roger Mais is a short novel on relationships which is centered on the struggles of an artist. Jamaica is not explicitly set as a backdrop as Mais utilizes fairly flat characters applicable to any setting. The introduction to the book states that Mais is making an attempt at myth making, and the characters tend to fall into certain archetypes that would make the story recognizable across cultures. Jamaica is still present however, as the characters sing songs and interact within their homes adjacent to a forest. Black Lightning examines this Jamaican community which despite the character’s aspirations, is filled with misunderstanding, threats of violence, and melancholy.

Jake, a sculptor, has recently been left by his wife Estrella. Elsewhere in the village, Jake’s assistant, Miriam, is deciding whether to engage in a relationship with Glen, the local Lothario. Attitudes towards women are addressed bluntly, and the sub-plot between Miriam and Glen distracts from the more interesting psychological novel found in the main story. Jake is working on a sculpture of the biblical Samson. He sees himself within the figure, and is in turn blinded as well. Later we learn how Jake has struggled with his sculpture, his own limitations, and his place within society. Jake is a pillar of local society, a moral man struggling to fit within his community. He rehabilitates the disfigured Amos into society, and their discussions are used to illustrate the torment Jake feels as he wrestles with his inner demons. Jake’s identity is unsettled, he is of noble character, but also abandoned by his wife. While his occupation is as a blacksmith, we find him pursuing a wood carving of Samson. Obsessed with the story of Samson, Jake pursues his own self-destruction in a search for meaning.

While the introduction states the challenges within the writing of Black Lightning, the character of Amos provides the best writing in the book. His scene with the young, confused Miriam is the one part of the novel that feels true. This encourages further reading of Mais.
… (altro)
 
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brianjungwi | Jun 24, 2014 |

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Opere
6
Opere correlate
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Utenti
104
Popolarità
#184,481
Voto
½ 3.7
Recensioni
6
ISBN
9
Preferito da
2

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