Brother Man (Caribbean Writers Series ; 10)

By Roger Mais

Book Overview

This novel brings alive the dance and laughter of the poor struggling for existence in the slums of Jamaica. In particular it portrays the Rastafarian cult.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 043598585X
• ISBN13: 9780435985851
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Heinemann
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 0.8" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Brother Man, Rasta Man

Roger Mais' novel laid the groundwork for other experimentation within the novel form and broke the mold of West Indian fiction with a Rasta protagonist. Good and evil, Sin and Redemption are localized and riffed on by the alternating characters. A breakthrough novel.

Crucial Literature

It's a shame that the Caribbean Writers Series is out of print, for if the other 34 titles are like this, the world is at a loss. The sophomore effort from Jamaican author Mais, Brother Man embodies the best of modern literture of the immediate post-war era. Fundamentally a tale of good over evil, of piety over wickedness, the novel is lyrical, with characters and storylines interweaving like solos in jazz. Mais' style has an openness to it that - to further the jazz reference - is like third-stream jazz, where the silences are as important as the notes, allowing the imagination to flesh out what Mais has left unsaid. And as a bonus for the reggae fan, the lead character is a Rasta. Well worth searching out.