In the discovery of a fossilized tree stump deep off the coast of Bermuda, Angela Barry finds a potent metaphor of long-term climate change against which to measure the alarms, resentments and hopes of future possibilities expressed by her characters as they respond to Bermuda's emergence from colonial status. Modernity brings challenges to the old racial, cultural and religious hierarchies that have dominated the island. Told through a group of characters brought together in shared responsibility for Genesis, a young Black adolescent on the verge of incarceration as a juvenile offender, and by Genesis herself, Barry explores a clashing of subcultures, each with the sense that their Bermuda is the one that possesses the island's virtues. There is Nina, from the respectable Black middle-class, with her own prickly uncertainties and moral hang-ups; Lizzie, fighting for her own space in a Portuguese family railing against changing times; Tess, battling with guilt over her white privilege and her reluctance to lose its benefits; and Hugh, a young Welshman who has come to the island to find himself. Above all, in the character of Genesis, Barry creates a dynamic and winning portrayal of the energies, hopes, conscience and vulnerabilities of youth. Beyond the human world with all its divisions, there are the little-known islands of Bermuda, for whose stunning beauties and sometimes urban ugliness Barry has a vividly descriptive eye.

The first novel set in Bermuda to be published since the 1970s

About the Author
Bermudian by birth, Angela Barry lived abroad for more than 20 years - in England, France, The Gambia, Senegal and the Seychelles - before returning to Bermuda, where she worked as a lecturer until retiring in 2016. She is the author of two previous books, Endangered Species, and Goree.


Book Information
ISBN 9781845235376
Author Angela Barry
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Peepal Tree Press Ltd
Publisher Peepal Tree Press Ltd