The Seeds of Green Mangoes by Janete Scobie
Capucine Books, December 2008
376 Pages, Paperback, $13.95
ISBN: 0615267866
Genre: Fiction
RAW Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)
THE SEEDS OF GREEN MANGOES is literary fiction at its best. This debut novel by Scobie is beautifully written and layered with more than just a coming of age story. Creola Phlogene is a young woman living on the fictional Caribbean island of St. Dominique. Living with her embittered grandmother, who treats her as royalty in their impoverished surroundings, is finding life confining when she discovers she has sensual love. However, the pain of the past and the uncertainty of the future start to taint Creola’s relationship with her grandmother and Creola’s quest for freedom comes with a heavy price. Going from life on the island to the city life of America, Creola journeys into the unknown and with pain she endures along the way she finds a way to live without boundaries and discover her true self. With her dies the long line of women who have found nothing but pain and hurt at the hands of their husbands or lovers.
Scobie tackles issues which may seem taboo to some. She deals with the issues of skin color, sexuality, abuse, religion, classism and more. Weaving prose which is lyrical and full of depth, one is transported from St. Dominique to New York and finally France, each place splendidly described. Her depiction of the characters is rich with intensity and strength. The pacing is almost poetic in the way each portion of the story is woven together precisely. THE SEEDS OF GREEN MANGOES is a welcomed addition to the literary world.
Reviewed by Cashana Seals, RAWSISTAZ.com
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Cashana Seals currently resides in Montgomery, Alabama. An avid reader since she was very young, she spends her spare time reading and is the President and Founder of a local book club.
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