He Drown She in the Sea
by Shani Mootoo
ISBN: 0802117988
Price: 23.00

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Publisher/ Date: Grove Press / May 2005
Format: Hardcover

Synopsis: Publisher Comments:
Set in contemporary Canada and on a Caribbean island during World War II, Shani Mootoo's second novel, He Drown She in the Sea, is the story of two childhood friends whose enduring bond drives them late in life to break free from the social manacles that have kept them apart. Harry, the half-caste son of a proud, hardworking maid, and Rose, the daughter of his mother's well-to-do employer, are inseparable as children. Theirs is a friendship that knows nothing of race or class or the other subtle hierarchies that define island society. But their ties are severed one night during World War II. When, years later, Harry and Rose cross paths again in Vancouver, they have a life-affirming affair. It is an awakening for her, a form of retribution for Harry, and this liaison sets in motion a climactic series of events. A spellbinding tale of forbidden love by the author of the Giller Prize finalist Cereus Bloom at Night, He Drown She in the Sea is a lyrical, sensuous, and suspenseful story about the danger of love and the euphoria and sacrifice that come with defying the life one is born into.
Review:
"The fictional island of Guanagaspar is again Mootoo's primary setting in his second novel, and, like Cereus Blooms at Night , the story is rich in the patois and daily rhythms of the Caribbean. Half-caste Harry St. George and his childhood love, Rose, the daughter of his mother's employer, are driven apart by the island's systemic patriarchy and racism, while also shaped by its simple beauty and languorous charms. Decades after their forced separation, Harry has made a good life for himself in British Columbia, but he can't forget his homeland or Rose. One of Mootoo's real accomplishments is his portrayal of the expatriate Harry. A quiet and unassuming man who takes pride in his seaside house and landscaping work, Harry socializes infrequently and dates with shy ineptitude. He is constrained by longing and memories of Rose, but remains stoic, accepting his condition even as it continues to torment him. Meanwhile, Rose still lives in Guanagaspar, married to the powerful attorney general of the island. She lives like a minor celebrity, but her life is not fulfilling. She begins to feel that Harry was the only one to ever look past her beauty and see her real self. Rose's daughter, now residing in Vancouver, provides a ready excuse for her to travel to Canada and reconnect with Harry. The trip itself, like much of the novel, is recounted in snippets and flashbacks, from many points of view, which gives the tale a fine-grained, beautifully textured finish. Agent, Maria Massie. (May) " Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Synopsis:
Set on the fictional Caribbean island of Guanagaspar around the time of World War II, and in modern-day Vancouver, this is a vivid story of love, class division, and the unrelenting hold the past has on the son of a laundress and the daughter of the wealthy family his mother works for.

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