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Review
"This is a jewel of a book. Channer's language is dancing and juicy, his vision penetrating, and his hero is magnificent." --Booklist (starred review)
"A rewarding and tense novella...the arrival of a talent matured." --Publishers Weekly
"Macmillan's Caribbean Writers series continues to deliver fictional treasure from the archipelago. This fable-like novella by Jamaican-born, US-based Colin Channer finds a sparky female Candide in Estrella ... The Caribbean tragi-comedy of class and colour finds a richly eloquent voice in this pin-sharp innocent abroad." --Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
"A rewarding and tense novella...the arrival of a talent matured." --Publishers Weekly
"Macmillan's Caribbean Writers series continues to deliver fictional treasure from the archipelago. This fable-like novella by Jamaican-born, US-based Colin Channer finds a sparky female Candide in Estrella ... The Caribbean tragi-comedy of class and colour finds a richly eloquent voice in this pin-sharp innocent abroad." --Boyd Tonkin, The Independent
Product Description
The Girl with the Golden Shoes is a dazzling and picaresque novella of parts Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mark Twain, and Bob Marley. Set in 1942, on an imagined island of San Carlos, a cultural cocktail of Trinidad, Cuba and Jamaica, it tells the story of Estrella Thompson, a 14-year-old forced to fend for herself when she is banished from the isolated fishing village where she has lived all her life. Her crime? Wanting to read and write. Prematurely ripe in body and mind, and contemptuous of the boundaries placed on her by gender, race and social class, Estrella takes the villagers rejection as a chance to change her life. Her aim is to get to Europe, which means that she has to get a job which means that she has to get a pair of shoes... and she's never worn a pair in her life.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Lyrical Exploration...(4.5 Stars)
25 April 2007
The Girl With The Golden Shoes by Colin Channer is a lyrical exploration of a young woman's internal and external journey. Estrella Thompson is a fourteen year- old girl, living on the island of San Carlos, who dreams of life beyond the shores where she exists. A chance meeting with a scuba-diver who washed up on the shore propels her forth on her journey. No one believes her when she explains what she has seen and she is viewed as a liar. Her biggest struggle seems to be her quest for a better life, something other than what she has known. The islanders believe that she feels she is better than they are and she needs to accept her destiny as a fishmonger. Their lack of belief forces her on her quest to get to a better place; in her mind that place is Europe. However, to get on her way she needs to get herself a new pair of shoes, golden shoes. That is a major undertaking for someone who has never owned or worn shoes. Though the story starts in 1942, the message is so timely because it deals with how one must make their own way. I loved how the gentle message of making your own choices was layered throughout the story.
Mr. Channer paints such a vivid picture with his use of language that I was swept along with Estrella as she ventured out. She travels from her village, allowing herself to become intertwined in the lives of the people she encounters. The people she encounters on her way are as ethnically and culturally diverse as any I have seen in recent literature. The Girl With The Golden Shoes takes us on a journey that explores class, sexuality and racism with dignity and a use of language that causes the scenes to dance off the page. Mr. Channer explores sexuality in a way that is non-sensational, yet thought-provoking. Watching Estrella strive to overcome her beginnings and work towards her inner strength as a proud African woman is beautiful. In the larger view the changes may not seem huge, but in terms of her growth they are phenomenal.
I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in a beautifully wrought work, by a storytelling master.
Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub
Mr. Channer paints such a vivid picture with his use of language that I was swept along with Estrella as she ventured out. She travels from her village, allowing herself to become intertwined in the lives of the people she encounters. The people she encounters on her way are as ethnically and culturally diverse as any I have seen in recent literature. The Girl With The Golden Shoes takes us on a journey that explores class, sexuality and racism with dignity and a use of language that causes the scenes to dance off the page. Mr. Channer explores sexuality in a way that is non-sensational, yet thought-provoking. Watching Estrella strive to overcome her beginnings and work towards her inner strength as a proud African woman is beautiful. In the larger view the changes may not seem huge, but in terms of her growth they are phenomenal.
I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in a beautifully wrought work, by a storytelling master.
Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub
Put on your shoes for the journey
24 Sep 2009
I just finished The Girl with the Golden Shoes, written by Colin Channer and I do not know what to make of this novella. The beginning made me ask what and ending made me ask how. However, the middle took me on a ride to somewhere I would revisit to take in more of the scenery.
This is the first book that I have read by a Caribbean author. The dialect of the characters took a little while to get accustomed to and some of the terms and phrases were unfamiliar to me, but that is how it would be for anyone who traveled to another country to observe the people and culture.
I loved the main character Estrella. She has girlish womanish ways that were appealing to me as I traveled with her to the place where she hopes to succeed after being banished from her village. She has a zest for becoming more than a girl from a no-name fishing village. She is a mix of naivety and shrewdness. She has an outspoken and introspective personality. Channer has created a complex young person. Although she has some difficulties to overcome on her journey I was given the sense by Channer's writing that Estrella will learn from each situation and create a life that she can look back on and say when they talk about me back home they are amazed at how well my "unlucky" life turned out.
Channer's description of places and events are vivid. In some chapters of the novella, he gave me the sense of place and a feel for the situations however there were other parts of the book that I had to reread and guess. My confusion is due to my unfamiliarity with the setting of the book and not the author's inability to describe places and events well.
I wanted a final ending to the story. I finished reading the book still wanting to know what kind of shoes Estrella gets.
I think mature middle school age teens through adults would find this book interesting to read. It could provide great discussion and writing topics on issues such as the value of reading, education, life circumstances, socio-economics, race, family life, Caribbean culture and history of the times.
This is the first book that I have read by a Caribbean author. The dialect of the characters took a little while to get accustomed to and some of the terms and phrases were unfamiliar to me, but that is how it would be for anyone who traveled to another country to observe the people and culture.
I loved the main character Estrella. She has girlish womanish ways that were appealing to me as I traveled with her to the place where she hopes to succeed after being banished from her village. She has a zest for becoming more than a girl from a no-name fishing village. She is a mix of naivety and shrewdness. She has an outspoken and introspective personality. Channer has created a complex young person. Although she has some difficulties to overcome on her journey I was given the sense by Channer's writing that Estrella will learn from each situation and create a life that she can look back on and say when they talk about me back home they are amazed at how well my "unlucky" life turned out.
Channer's description of places and events are vivid. In some chapters of the novella, he gave me the sense of place and a feel for the situations however there were other parts of the book that I had to reread and guess. My confusion is due to my unfamiliarity with the setting of the book and not the author's inability to describe places and events well.
I wanted a final ending to the story. I finished reading the book still wanting to know what kind of shoes Estrella gets.
I think mature middle school age teens through adults would find this book interesting to read. It could provide great discussion and writing topics on issues such as the value of reading, education, life circumstances, socio-economics, race, family life, Caribbean culture and history of the times.
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