against a background of subtle race and class prejudice.The Pink House at Appleton is set in late 1950s Jamaica, during the period when the country was on the verge of independence. It’s been written by debut novelist Jonathan Braham, whose personal experiences have been drawn into the setting of book.
“It is a period and a place that I know very well, having lived on the Appleton Sugar Estate in Jamaica during that time,” observes Jonathan. “My childhood was fascinating and enjoyable at Appleton and I wanted to use that background in my first novel, to try to describe the scenery, scents (the boiling sugar and the flowers), music and people (particularly the maids and the neighbours),” he continues. “In today’s world where, for many people, race is such an obstacle to relationships, I wanted to show in my novel how black and white people lived agreeably (certainly from an eight year old boy’s point of view) at this sugar estate.” The Pink House at Appleton covers a year in the life of a black middle-class Jamaican family at the Sugar Estate, and the story plays out against a background of subtle race and class prejudice and adultery.
Jonathan Braham, The Pink House at Appleton. Troubadour Publishing, 2011.
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