Pynter Bender

by Jacob Ross

Pynter Bender is a child of the cane fields of Grenada, the second smallest independent state in the world; a boy born blind but whose eyes are healed, allowing him to see great beauty. Pynter's father leaves him to be brought up by the Bender women, a close-knit group of aunts and cousins, and Pynter's early life is shaped by them. He begins to understand a world beyond them when his uncle, Birdie the Beloved, the best baker on the island, occasionally returns to the family on his brief periods out of jail. When Pynter comes to love a woman, and later flees his family to hide in the canes from the marauding soldiers, he can no longer ignore the violent world beyond the yard where he lives. This extraordinary debut novel charts the painful awakening of a rural population, essentially organized around serfdom, into a raw and uncertain future that can only be achieved through fighting—a civil war that Pynter is drawn in to. Pynter Bender is about the conflict between the world of men and women, men who walk away from their families and from the cane fields, and their women who forbear.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Literature

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

Jacob Ross was born in Grenada, and has lived in Britain since 1984. He is a poet, playwright, journalist, novelist and a tutor of creative writing. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been a judge of the V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize, the Olive Cook, Scott Moncrieff and Tom-Gallon Literary Awards.
~ Sources: Government of Grenada and Peepal Tree Press

Reviews

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a child who grows up in rural Grenada in the 1960s and becomes a young man in the early 1970s. It is also the story of an extended family where most of the adults work in the cane fields. Finally, it is a story of a brutal government and of the people who organize to resist. As to the family and the government stories, though, Pynter Bender grows and mostly thrives.

There is a lot of dialect. It didn't take long to become accustomed to it and it enhanced rather than detracted from the story. That said, I had to read "yooman beens" a few times before I understood it as human beings. Pynter was born blind, but as a relatively young child (we don't know for sure, but I guessed 4 or 5 years old), he was sent to a woman who used herbs and other natural remedies which restored his sight. I went with it. But after Pynter's sight was restored, there was a rather interesting conversation about a person's eye color. Pynter said the person's eyes were black.

'Nuh! That's seeing with your eye, not feeling with it. Now feel - turn your mind to all the things the old man must ha' tell you about me. Talk to me, fella, jus' ... '

'Night.' ... 'The color of your eyes is night.'

'The color of yours is water.'

And there were metaphors that I read more than one time. And there, with the bamboo making a fluttering green arch above her head, and the yellow spots of sunlight slipping along her naked arms and neck like a rain of yellow coins ... I mostly took my time with this, but there were small sections in the later pages where I couldn't turn them fast enough.

Despite my 4-star rating, I know this isn't a book for everyone. I probably wouldn't have even been looking for it had my GR group not had a countries of the world challenge. For that I was lucky to have gone looking for a book set in Grenada. It makes me hope that the others I've gone looking for with other countries might be as worthwhile.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Jacob Ross was born in 1956 on the Caribbean island of Grenada. I'd never heard of him nor was I familiar with any of his work. I happened upon Pynter Bender at the Chicago Public Library - one of those selections the librarians pull to hopefully encourage patrons to take chances on less-hyped-up books "hidden" in the stacks. Pynter (pronounced PINE-ter)Bender was published 10 years ago (2008) - and not without critical acclaim: this debut novel was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Regional Prize.

It is about a boy named Pynter, who is born blind and a twin - two days after his brother, Peter - into a family of women in a Caribbean village where life revolves around the cultivation of sugar cane. After a period of time spent living with Santay, a natural healer, Pynter regains his sight and is sent back to live with his family. He is a child who is in touch with the supernatural, and is regarded with as much suspicion as admiration and love. Some believe he is the reincarnation of a difficult ancestor.

Often outcast and punished for being outspoken, Pynter is sent to live with his father for a time, while his twin, Peter, remains with their mother, grandmother, aunts, and their men - who kind of exist in a fringe-like, peripheral way. There aren't many choices for the men in these parts: they can work in the sugar cane plantations, they can be builders, and they can get into trouble and go to prison. Pynter is perceptive and intelligent; he may be a candidate for more education and possibly leave the island. It's almost as if every one else senses this and holds him at a distance from themselves, in premature readiness for his departure.

The story is also very much about women, and love, history, violence, and memory. Things take a political turn during the twins' teenage years. Ross spends a lot of prose on the geography and rituals of island life, and the narrative voice cuts back and forth between regular english usage and patois. For me, the novel is uneven, possibly too long, but the beauty and flavor of the writing kept me reading to the end. I'm really glad that I discovered Jacob Ross.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've visited the islands as a tourist but didn't meet many local people. This book, beautifully written, was besides a great story an education for me in the ways of the people who have lived there for generations. I'm so happy to have found it.

[Jerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pynter Bender grows up in the small Caribbean town of Old Hope where he is raised by his mother, his aunts and his grandmother. Born 2 days after his twin brother, he is blind at first but then miraculously cured as a small boy. He seems to have a certain insight and intelligence that he carries into adulthood.

An interesting exposure to a very different world and culture where the people don't mind the poverty they live in and working in the sugarcane fields is the main source of income. The book is a little drawn out, but still very impressive for a debut novel.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plus a half star. A big book but the author brought me along with him all the way. While I was reading, all the characters were alive and it was hard to leave them behind at the end. Nothing like my own life experiences and I value the chance to step into other shoes.

[Sallie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave a good portrait of a very different world and was well-told. I wasn't a fan of the ending, but the book was worth reading despite that.

[Danilo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read almost 60 pages of this book, but the story never really took off. I see some quality in it, but it was just too boring for me.

[Margaret Pillay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but difficult read about the lives of a community living in the Caribbean and working with sugar cane.

[Patti]

This one just wasn't for me, gave up after ~100 pages

[Lily Ponder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrical prose and wonderfully descriptive scene setting, but rather a series of vignettes than a novel. I'd have liked a motive for Pynter’s behaviour.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review reserved until after book group discussion