Abel Asley was not dead. Instead, it is Stanford Solomon whose name he is bearing, his friend, that died and Abel took his name a couple of decades ago. He is 69, about the die and reunited his family in Harlem for the moment of truth. For Maisy Card, this moment is a pretext only to unfold long histories crossing oceans and centuries.
In the vein of Yaa Gyasi´s Homecoming, but with a less dramatic and historical twists, The Ghosts are Family is a collection of individual stories where colonialism is omnipresent. ´Duppies´ or ghosts are an important element of the Jamaican urban culture, and here, they are often invading the stories, no matter how modern the present times are. Resentments and alienation are also part of the DNA, built through migration and old slave trade. This historical destiny is reflected through the high tensions of family relationships, with mothers and fathers and daughters and sons entangled in never-ending conflicts.
But there is always a hilarious note in the middle of a dramatic story which maintains the seriousness of the tone and content though. How else than by taking things easy and blaming the ghosts can one survive so much suffering and hardship? It is part of the humanity of those characters to take things easy and find the sparkle of laugh in the complexity of their situation. In addition, the stories are also a meditation about memory and how reality may be betrayed by different and sometimes highly conflictual versions of the same event.
Presented as a diary, told at different persons, the stories are revealing interesting aspects about the Jamaican identity, at home and in diaspora.
The Ghosts are Family is a result of intensive research and documentation and for a debut novel shows a pleasant storytelling talent. I´ve listen to the audio version of the book, lively narrated by Karl O´Brian Williams. (And yes, it seems that audiobooks are becoming a part of my regular reading program).
Rating: 3 stars
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