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Forbidden
On the heels of the slave uprising in Haiti, the French Empire is rocked by another slave revolt, this time in its colony Saint Helen. The upheaval pits the settlers and slaves against each other, and plunges the colony into a racial war that keeps blacks and whites divided long after Emancipation.
Born into this polarized society where the colour of one’s skin determines one’s social status, Christian Joseph, a mulatto, finds favour because of his complexion and being brought up by priests. His world is turned upside down when he discovers that he was born out of wedlock and fathered by the insane son of a sugar planter. To his dismay, he further discovers that his father has died and willed his estate to Christian’s mother – a poor black village girl - to the disbelief and outrage of many in the community, including the priests. This forces Christian to return to the village of his birth to try and uncover the secrets of his past.
Along the way he befriends a young woman named April and falls in love with her. Unlike Christian who is proud of his Catholic upbringing and European heredity, April is a proud descendant of maroons. Christian finds it hard to reconcile his attraction to a black woman with the discomfort he feels around dark-skinned people and tension develops between them - all the more as April proceeds to challenge his view of life to try and force him to face up to the reality that he has African roots.
Born into this polarized society where the colour of one’s skin determines one’s social status, Christian Joseph, a mulatto, finds favour because of his complexion and being brought up by priests. His world is turned upside down when he discovers that he was born out of wedlock and fathered by the insane son of a sugar planter. To his dismay, he further discovers that his father has died and willed his estate to Christian’s mother – a poor black village girl - to the disbelief and outrage of many in the community, including the priests. This forces Christian to return to the village of his birth to try and uncover the secrets of his past.
Along the way he befriends a young woman named April and falls in love with her. Unlike Christian who is proud of his Catholic upbringing and European heredity, April is a proud descendant of maroons. Christian finds it hard to reconcile his attraction to a black woman with the discomfort he feels around dark-skinned people and tension develops between them - all the more as April proceeds to challenge his view of life to try and force him to face up to the reality that he has African roots.
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First published March 13, 2011
3 people want to read
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Tony Williams
254 books14 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.
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January 25, 2013An impossibly good book which is impossible to review
Please don’t ignore this post based on the cover of the book and summary. The cover is so bad my husband was surprised I let the book in the house (and the man on the cover looks NOTHING like the character he’s intended to portray) and the summary is about the last 3rd of the book and doesn’t begin to cover the scope of this novel. Please note – there are spoilers in this review!
As a general rule, I tend to not be interested in African history. It’s just not my bailiwick. Therefore, I don’t end up reading much Caribbean literature or African American literature. Similarly, I don’t read much Christian fiction or epic fantasy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good, just not my usual fare. I’m glad I agreed to review Forbidden when Williams approached me on Good Reads. Despite being outside my preferred interest, it is a wonderful and important book. Taking on issues of such magnitude only this 640 page novel could encompass it.
Williams traces one colonial estate from the early days of the slave trade in the West Indies to modern day. Spanning cultures as diverse as British, Irish, French, Creole, African, Native Islanders and the culture created by slavery in the community, Williams manages to pull the reader into the complexities of day to day life as well as addressing larger issues of colonialism and racism.
Because the novel tackles such an incredibly broad scope it’s difficult to summarize. The first 2/3 of the book is really background to what the author lists as the main story, however, in many ways, that is the most interesting stuff. The writing is third person omniscient with moments of close POV, but the essence of the story is in the large sweeps. If you want a modern book with all that showing, then this isn’t the book. The prologue alone could easily be made into a full novel if you took that approach. But that’s not the point of this book. The point isn’t the characters, it’s the broad strokes. Racism and colonialism don’t happen in just one life time. It takes generations of upheaval, unrest and complacency for cultural phenomenons like the ones addressed in Forbidden to take root. I’ve never seen a book handle this as well as this one. I’m floored by the expanse the book takes in combination with the intimacy of the writing.
The narrative is beautifully written as well as poignant:
"Nature’s power to create and destroy was evident all around. It was visible in the multifarious flora and fauna blooming gloriously, only to wither and die and then be born again. It was manifest in the florid species of birds flitting in and out of the trees and filling the air with their gutsy shrilling; the swarming lizards and bark beetles; the plethora of flying and crawling insects intermingling, warring and devouring one another."
There are some problems in the book which the author needs to address before I can actually recommend it. Not because it’s not a phenomenal read, but because there are some content errors.
~ Pg 129 “[Victoria] returned home a married woman and pregnant…gave birth to a son. They named him Author.” but on pg 131 it states “Two years after they arrived from England [Victoria] became pregnant and gave birth to a son whom she named Author.” Which is it? There aren’t two sons named Author in the rest of the story.
~ Pg 174 reveals that (SPOILER) Victoria is Isabelle’s mother, making Isabelle and Author half-siblings. I find this impossible to believe because the narrative up until then has been following Kojo. In that narrative a liaison between him and Victoria is never disclosed. This doesn’t make any sense because of all the intimate things that ARE disclosed. There’s no way the story of Kojo wouldn’t include an interlude between them. He was so in love with her, his narrative MUST include this. I think the author was going for the shock value instead of character consistency. The only hint is Isabelle’s complexion and Mary’s lack of bonding with the baby. I believe that but the story doesn’t feel authentic with this being glossed over.
~ Its hard to believe Kojo would be so supportive of Isabelle and Author’s romance. He would know they were siblings since he’s the father of Isabelle and there’s nothing in his history which would indicate that he would approve of incest. If he’s overlooking the incestual nature of their relationship because he’s proud of his daughter’s further indoctrination to “white-ness” than that needs to be discussed and explored. Otherwise it feels like a big issue which isn’t explored. Honestly, the incest storyline feels undeveloped. It needs to either be more of an issue and addressed or it needs to be removed from the story.
~ Another timeline error: pg 264 “Two months before she was due to give birth, her husband suddenly upped and left for America…Four months later Matilda took ill…she was forced to seek help…for her survival and that of her unborn baby.” The issue here is that she would be 2 months after her due date and the baby is still unborn!
~ pg 265 “Two months after moving in, Edward’s mother gave birth to him.” So this would be 6 months after the point when the husband left, making her 4 months past her due date.
~ Christian is an unlikeable character. There are no redeeming qualities about him that I can decipher. He thinks he’s better than everyone and is always getting offended by how he’s treated but he shows literally NO ONE any respect. Perhaps the priest who raised him, but even that feels forced. For a character so much of the book is focused on, I should be able to like him at least a little, but as it is, I can’t figure out how anyone can tolerate being in the same room as him. Seriously, it’s inconceivable to me why April falls in love with him. He’s rude, abusive and constantly belittleing her. And if she could hear the things that happen in his head! Whoa! He’s more obsessed with the idea of her than in love with her. He doesn’t even seem to like her. The romance between Kojo and Isabelle was MUCH more believable. The issue here is that the book is written with a distant perspective, but then with Christian, the author attempts to bring us into a close POV. But he’s still maintaining an issue based style, making Christian a symbol, not a person. Because of this, the close POV feels detached and unauthentic.
~ Content discrepancy: pg 362 “Originally from Rhodesia, he migrated to Scotland with his mother following the death of his father.” and later on the same page “Five years after arriving in Scotland, at the age of eighteen, he joined a Catholic seminary. While his father had encouraged him in his aspirations, his mother had been dead set against him joining the priesthood.” Ummm…Isn’t his father dead?
~ For a 640 page book, the ending feels surprisingly inconsistent. We jump from Christian about to meet his mother to him leaving for England. Considering the close following of Christian’s experience in Soufriere and the pivotal experience of finally meeting his mother, it’s extremely disappointing not to have it written out. In addition, the revelation that Christian is born of incest is never made, another reason why it needs to be beefed up as a part of the book or removed. I adored the characters at the end of the book, the lead up and the revelation is fabulous, but then it just stops leaving the reader feeling cold and abandoned.
~ Another issue which isn’t addressed at the end is the matter of April and Lulu. Christian says April is going to wait for him… Okay… where? on the mountain? Back at Patrick’s? Is she living with Kojo (hahahahaha)? The entire status of their relationship is completely not addressed despite it being forced on the reader as a plot point for the last 200 pages. Despite it’s length the reader needs another 2-3 chapters MINIMUM at the end before Christian can leave for England to have it come together as a book.
Because of all this, I can’t really review Forbidden (I’m also totally unclear on why this is the title). But I also can’t walk away from it. The author has created an epic story in the tradition of multi-generational fiction like A Suitable Boy and The 19th Wife. It’s brilliantly woven together with an astonishing amount of research and ingenuity. What Mr. Williams has accomplished here is beyond anything I could ever hope to approach in my own writing. His creation of the Negre Guinea people alone is testament to his talent. There is no shortage of brilliance in this book. In fact, it’s because of the amazing work the author has done, the issues I have stand out so much. The smallest error suddenly becomes inexcusable when it’s set against the backdrop of such masterful writing.
I hope my readers and Mr. Williams can see that my goal here isn’t to trash Forbidden. Quite the opposite. This book should be taught in schools. High school if they can manage it, college definitely. This book should be sold in book stores, discussed over coffee and given to the next generation of all races and religions so we can hope to learn from the over arching effects slavery and racism have had on our culture. It may be set in the Caribbean but the message spans the globe and transcends even the race issues it addresses in specific. Anyone who reads Forbidden will have no choice but to re-evaluate the way they look at the world and how they understand our collective history.
I only hope the author is able to make some of the changes I note above, perhaps do another round of work with a fiction editor. The spelling was immaculate and the structure well done, but the eye of someone who works with fiction would greatly improve this work.
Please don’t ignore this post based on the cover of the book and summary. The cover is so bad my husband was surprised I let the book in the house (and the man on the cover looks NOTHING like the character he’s intended to portray) and the summary is about the last 3rd of the book and doesn’t begin to cover the scope of this novel. Please note – there are spoilers in this review!
As a general rule, I tend to not be interested in African history. It’s just not my bailiwick. Therefore, I don’t end up reading much Caribbean literature or African American literature. Similarly, I don’t read much Christian fiction or epic fantasy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good, just not my usual fare. I’m glad I agreed to review Forbidden when Williams approached me on Good Reads. Despite being outside my preferred interest, it is a wonderful and important book. Taking on issues of such magnitude only this 640 page novel could encompass it.
Williams traces one colonial estate from the early days of the slave trade in the West Indies to modern day. Spanning cultures as diverse as British, Irish, French, Creole, African, Native Islanders and the culture created by slavery in the community, Williams manages to pull the reader into the complexities of day to day life as well as addressing larger issues of colonialism and racism.
Because the novel tackles such an incredibly broad scope it’s difficult to summarize. The first 2/3 of the book is really background to what the author lists as the main story, however, in many ways, that is the most interesting stuff. The writing is third person omniscient with moments of close POV, but the essence of the story is in the large sweeps. If you want a modern book with all that showing, then this isn’t the book. The prologue alone could easily be made into a full novel if you took that approach. But that’s not the point of this book. The point isn’t the characters, it’s the broad strokes. Racism and colonialism don’t happen in just one life time. It takes generations of upheaval, unrest and complacency for cultural phenomenons like the ones addressed in Forbidden to take root. I’ve never seen a book handle this as well as this one. I’m floored by the expanse the book takes in combination with the intimacy of the writing.
The narrative is beautifully written as well as poignant:
"Nature’s power to create and destroy was evident all around. It was visible in the multifarious flora and fauna blooming gloriously, only to wither and die and then be born again. It was manifest in the florid species of birds flitting in and out of the trees and filling the air with their gutsy shrilling; the swarming lizards and bark beetles; the plethora of flying and crawling insects intermingling, warring and devouring one another."
There are some problems in the book which the author needs to address before I can actually recommend it. Not because it’s not a phenomenal read, but because there are some content errors.
~ Pg 129 “[Victoria] returned home a married woman and pregnant…gave birth to a son. They named him Author.” but on pg 131 it states “Two years after they arrived from England [Victoria] became pregnant and gave birth to a son whom she named Author.” Which is it? There aren’t two sons named Author in the rest of the story.
~ Pg 174 reveals that (SPOILER) Victoria is Isabelle’s mother, making Isabelle and Author half-siblings. I find this impossible to believe because the narrative up until then has been following Kojo. In that narrative a liaison between him and Victoria is never disclosed. This doesn’t make any sense because of all the intimate things that ARE disclosed. There’s no way the story of Kojo wouldn’t include an interlude between them. He was so in love with her, his narrative MUST include this. I think the author was going for the shock value instead of character consistency. The only hint is Isabelle’s complexion and Mary’s lack of bonding with the baby. I believe that but the story doesn’t feel authentic with this being glossed over.
~ Its hard to believe Kojo would be so supportive of Isabelle and Author’s romance. He would know they were siblings since he’s the father of Isabelle and there’s nothing in his history which would indicate that he would approve of incest. If he’s overlooking the incestual nature of their relationship because he’s proud of his daughter’s further indoctrination to “white-ness” than that needs to be discussed and explored. Otherwise it feels like a big issue which isn’t explored. Honestly, the incest storyline feels undeveloped. It needs to either be more of an issue and addressed or it needs to be removed from the story.
~ Another timeline error: pg 264 “Two months before she was due to give birth, her husband suddenly upped and left for America…Four months later Matilda took ill…she was forced to seek help…for her survival and that of her unborn baby.” The issue here is that she would be 2 months after her due date and the baby is still unborn!
~ pg 265 “Two months after moving in, Edward’s mother gave birth to him.” So this would be 6 months after the point when the husband left, making her 4 months past her due date.
~ Christian is an unlikeable character. There are no redeeming qualities about him that I can decipher. He thinks he’s better than everyone and is always getting offended by how he’s treated but he shows literally NO ONE any respect. Perhaps the priest who raised him, but even that feels forced. For a character so much of the book is focused on, I should be able to like him at least a little, but as it is, I can’t figure out how anyone can tolerate being in the same room as him. Seriously, it’s inconceivable to me why April falls in love with him. He’s rude, abusive and constantly belittleing her. And if she could hear the things that happen in his head! Whoa! He’s more obsessed with the idea of her than in love with her. He doesn’t even seem to like her. The romance between Kojo and Isabelle was MUCH more believable. The issue here is that the book is written with a distant perspective, but then with Christian, the author attempts to bring us into a close POV. But he’s still maintaining an issue based style, making Christian a symbol, not a person. Because of this, the close POV feels detached and unauthentic.
~ Content discrepancy: pg 362 “Originally from Rhodesia, he migrated to Scotland with his mother following the death of his father.” and later on the same page “Five years after arriving in Scotland, at the age of eighteen, he joined a Catholic seminary. While his father had encouraged him in his aspirations, his mother had been dead set against him joining the priesthood.” Ummm…Isn’t his father dead?
~ For a 640 page book, the ending feels surprisingly inconsistent. We jump from Christian about to meet his mother to him leaving for England. Considering the close following of Christian’s experience in Soufriere and the pivotal experience of finally meeting his mother, it’s extremely disappointing not to have it written out. In addition, the revelation that Christian is born of incest is never made, another reason why it needs to be beefed up as a part of the book or removed. I adored the characters at the end of the book, the lead up and the revelation is fabulous, but then it just stops leaving the reader feeling cold and abandoned.
~ Another issue which isn’t addressed at the end is the matter of April and Lulu. Christian says April is going to wait for him… Okay… where? on the mountain? Back at Patrick’s? Is she living with Kojo (hahahahaha)? The entire status of their relationship is completely not addressed despite it being forced on the reader as a plot point for the last 200 pages. Despite it’s length the reader needs another 2-3 chapters MINIMUM at the end before Christian can leave for England to have it come together as a book.
Because of all this, I can’t really review Forbidden (I’m also totally unclear on why this is the title). But I also can’t walk away from it. The author has created an epic story in the tradition of multi-generational fiction like A Suitable Boy and The 19th Wife. It’s brilliantly woven together with an astonishing amount of research and ingenuity. What Mr. Williams has accomplished here is beyond anything I could ever hope to approach in my own writing. His creation of the Negre Guinea people alone is testament to his talent. There is no shortage of brilliance in this book. In fact, it’s because of the amazing work the author has done, the issues I have stand out so much. The smallest error suddenly becomes inexcusable when it’s set against the backdrop of such masterful writing.
I hope my readers and Mr. Williams can see that my goal here isn’t to trash Forbidden. Quite the opposite. This book should be taught in schools. High school if they can manage it, college definitely. This book should be sold in book stores, discussed over coffee and given to the next generation of all races and religions so we can hope to learn from the over arching effects slavery and racism have had on our culture. It may be set in the Caribbean but the message spans the globe and transcends even the race issues it addresses in specific. Anyone who reads Forbidden will have no choice but to re-evaluate the way they look at the world and how they understand our collective history.
I only hope the author is able to make some of the changes I note above, perhaps do another round of work with a fiction editor. The spelling was immaculate and the structure well done, but the eye of someone who works with fiction would greatly improve this work.
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