Description:
The past sits uneasily on the characters of these stories, whether on their native Isabella Island or in Montreal, where some of them now live. Life is ultimately lived according to the choices that were made, and retribution does not always go where it belongs. In his quiet and subtle way, Thomas continues to bring alive a Caribbean island, giving depth and complexity to its characters.
Brief description: H. Nigel Thomas was born in St. Vincent and now lives in Montreal. After a stint as a high school teacher in Montreal, Thomas was for many years a professor of US literature at Université Laval, before retiring. He is the author of three novels, Spirits in the Dark (shortlisted for the QWF Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction), BEHIND THE FACE OF WINTER, and RETURN TO ARCADIA; the story collections How Loud Can the Village Cock Crow, LIVES: WHOLE AND OTHERWISE, and WHEN THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT (TSAR Publications, 2014); and a book of poetry, Moving through Darkness. Thomas has also published two works of nonfiction, From Folklore to Fiction: A Study of Fold Heroes and Rituals in the Black American Novel, and WHY WE WRITE: CONVERSATIONS WITH AFRICAN CANADIAN POETS AND NOVELISTS.
Review Quotes:
"Novelist, short story writer and critic H Nigel Thomas has written a fantastic collection of short stories that reveals universal truths about human nature and the human condition." --Montreal Community Contact
". . . Thomas (who was born and raised in St. Vincent) has produced a complex and specific portrait of a Caribbean nation and particularly of race within the continued effects of colonialism." --The Globe and Mail