The Arrival of Brilliance

The first book review here at the GCR will be Edward Brathwaite's, (now known as Kamau Brathwaite), The Arrivants. The book is a book of poetry, and it includes three previously published works of Brathwaite's, Rights of Passage, Islands, and Masks.

The works center around the colonial history and identity of the Caribbean diaspora. The Arrivants is incredibly inventive in its use of language, creating from the English language new words, utilizing the Caribbean dialect and accent, and including words from African languages. The work is definitely one that lends itself to reading aloud, as Brathwaite deftly employs different rhythms and jazz influences to bring the work to another level of brilliance that one can hear in the reading. Overall The Arrivants is a work that takes us on a journey who's length is measured in sections, full of gaps and fragments, and out of this he creates a true work of art.

Brathwaite writes a new history for the Caribbean, one that contains a progression from colonial beginnings to a future of possibility. I cannot recommend this book enough,. Read it, read alone and think about it, read it aloud with friends and talk about it.

I give The Arrivants four and a half out of five garlics.
(and a half garlic)