Unburnable by Marie Elena-John
Antiguan-born, Marie Elena-John weaves together West Indian history, African culture, and American sensibilities in her debut novel, "Unburnable."
(New York, NY)—Marie-Elena John wasn’t considering a writing career when
she left her Caribbean island for New York’s City College. There, thanks to
a semester spent at the University of Nigeria, she became fascinated by the
intertwined cultural commonality of the Continent, the Caribbean, and the
African-American experiences. This fascination became the basis for her debut
novel, Unburnable a multi-generational narrative of family, betrayal, and
vengeance, publishing in April by Amistad/Harpercollins.
Provocative and set partly in post World War II Dominica and contemporary
Washington, D.C., Unburnable entails a brutal rape with a broken shard of a
Coke bottle, and a suspenseful murder mystery.
From a Washington, D.C. base throughout the 1990s, Marie Elena-John worked
with non-profit organizations, traveling throughout Africa, first in
support of grassroots development efforts, later working with pro-democracy
and human rights movements, and eventually becoming best known in her
field for her pioneering work on the denial of women’s inheritance rights
in Africa.
Recently though, she channeled her vast knowledge of and passion for the
African Diaspora into her literary debut, that Booklist hailed as a
"page-turner." Lillian Baptiste is willed back to her island home of
Dominica to finally settle her past. Haunted by scandal and secrets,
Lillian left Dominica when she was fourteen after discovering she was
the daughter of Iris, the half-crazy woman whose life was told of in
chanté mas songs sung during Carnival: Matilda Swinging and Bottle of
Coke; songs about a village on a mountaintop and bones and bodies;
songs about flying masquerades and a man who dropped dead.
Lillian knew the songs well. And now she knows these songs
-- and thus the history -- belong to her. After twenty years away,
Lillian returns to face the demons of her past, and with the help of
Teddy, the man she refused to love, she will find a way to heal.
Unburnable weaves together West Indian history, African culture, and
American sensibilities from a rising voice in Caribbean fiction.
Marie-Elena John divides her time between Washington D.C. and Antigua
with her husband and two children.
Unburnable by Marie Elena-John
Amistad/Harpercollins; ISBN: 0060837578; 04/11/2006; Hardcover