Unburnable

by Marie-Elena John

In this riveting narrative of family, betrayal, vengeance, and murder, Lillian Baptiste is willed back to her island home of Dominica to finally settle her past. Haunted by scandal and secrets, Lillian left Dominica when she was fourteen after discovering she was the daughter of Iris, the half-crazy woman whose life was told of in chanté mas songs sung during Carnival: "Matilda Swinging" and "Bottle of Coke"; songs about the village on a mountaintop and bones and bodies: songs about flying masquerades and a man who dropped dead. Lillian knew the songs well. And now she knows these songs---and thus the history---belong to her. After twenty years away, Lillian returns to face the demons of her past, and with the help of Teddy, the man she refused to love, she will find a way to heal.

Set partly in contemporary Washington, D.C., and partly in post-World War II Dominica, Unburnable weaves together West Indian history, African culture, and American sensibilities. Richly textured and lushly rendered, Unburnable showcases a welcome and assured new voice.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Adult, The World, Literature, Book Club

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Marie-Elena John is a Caribbean writer.

She was born and raised in Antigua and is a former development specialist of the African Development Foundation, the World Council of Churches’ Program to Combat Racism, and Global Rights (formerly the International Human Rights Law Group), where she worked in support of the pro-democracy movement in Nigeria and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is known especially for her work in the United Nations and at local and national levels to raise awareness about the denial of inheritance rights to women.

Marie-Elena John made history in 1986 as the first Black woman valedictorian of New York's City College (CCNY). She later earned a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University, specializing in culture and development in Africa. She lives in Antigua and Washington, D.C with her husband, and their two children.

Her literary debut, Unburnable, was named "Best Debut of 2006" by Black Issues Book Review, was short-listed for the 2007 Hurston-Wright Legacy Awards in the Debut Fiction Category, was nominated for the 2008 International IMPAC DUBLIN Award, and was identified by the Modern Language Association as a new title of note in Caribbean literature.

She was also selected by Book Expo America as one of ten "emerging voices" for 2006, chosen from among the debut novelists reviewed by Publishers Weekly for the 2005-2006 period.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

there are some problems with this book.(besides a few distracting typos - and i usually don't mind, but these changed meanings too much to be acceptable) it's the same problems that books like the eight and the ghost of hannah mendes suffer from. all of these books split the narrative between a modern-day and a historical plot but the modern plot always suffers and devolves into a stock romance-type plot. it's a shame because the "other" plot is so compelling. but it was really good despite my gripes.

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I can hardly believe Unburnable is Marie-Elena John's debut because she wrote such a deep, suspenseful novel that had me guessing until the last page. I found it to be perfectly paced, very well written with colorful, smart characters that jumped off the page. I was both entertained and educated by this offering - a rare feat in today's literature.

The story centers on three generations of Dominican women, two of which are infamously captured in local folklore, legend, and indigenous songs. Matilda, a proud, majestic African woman rumored to dabble in Obeah was publicly tried and hanged for murder after she confessed in police custody. Iris, Matilda's daughter, was a beautiful prostitute known for her voracious sexual appetite, disreputable past and questionable mental health. Lillian, Iris's daughter, was raised by her stepmother after Iris's untimely death. Lillian eventually moves to the United States to live with an aunt in order to shield her from her foremother's legacy. We learn quickly that the proverbial fruit does not fall far from the tree. After years of self-suppression, Lillian's mental instability manifests to the point where she now has difficulty blocking the painful memories. Fueled by inner voices and haunting flashbacks, she decides to return back to Dominica to learn the truth surrounding her family. She engages Teddy, a renowned attorney, collegiate confidante (and soon to be lover), who is basking in the afterglow of a sensationalized legal case where he successfully disproves a self-confession against tumultuous odds. Lillian sensing her grandmother's innocence, asks Teddy to join her in Dominica to re-investigate Matilda's 1940's era confession to mass murder. What ensues is a loaded history of dark secrets, shocking scandal, and a cover-up that permeates all levels of class, religion and the biased politics of the day.

At the very core of the story, the author captures the essence of the African Diaspora. The complexities, struggles, and compromises surrounding the blending of races, cultures and faiths are evident in the trials and tribulations of all three women in both current and historical eras. There are even subtle observations and theories regarding African American and African Caribbean cultures which explain the mindsets of the key characters. Additionally, the author weaves a great deal of Dominican history throughout the novel, done with such care that the lessons are not overbearing, but essential to understanding the motivation and principles of key characters that eventually lead to the mystery's resolution. I loved the transition between eras - the flashbacks to Matilda and Lillian's periods were smooth and blended evenly with the modern day episodes between Lillian and Teddy. This is a great debut and I am looking forward to this author's next body of work.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the beginning and set of up of the storyline. But by the end I was disapointed and exhausted. By the end I was didnt want to hear about the characters anymore.

However I enjoyed the Carribean hsitory and culutre information. Exploitation and mutilation of women, not so much. It seemed as if this story has been created before. The theme of Obeah has been explored in a few books I have read, sometimes its overused nowdays.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an outstanding piece of literary fiction. Set in Dominica, Marie-Elena John tells the harrowing story of three generations of Dominican women spanning from the 1940s to the early 2000s. The storyline takes the reader into the Dominican past highlighting its pre-Columbian past, its African past and present, and its Creoleness (in language and religion, especially). All of these co-exist sometimes uncomfortably. At points the text reads like historical anthropology by giving the reader details of Dominican culture. As John locates the main characters into that tapestry of Domicanness that's where the reader sees aspects of the culture bump against itself.

This is no spoiler, but I strongly sensed that John drew from Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon. I would love to chat about this with readers. I respect that about the book.

As a historian reading, I appreciate that one of the main characters was an African American historian. But in bringing his backstory I feel that John left it flat. That's disappointing. I also found a glaring mistake (for me as an historian of Africa) in the use of one term. Without those two drawbacks this book would have been five stars for me.

[Roger DeBlanck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was a struggle for me to finish. The story was interesting, but the writing style made this book a tremendous labor of frustration. The narrative follows several generations of a Caribbean family. The main character, Lillian Baptiste, leaves her native island of Dominica for the United States, and over twenty years later she returns to confront the secrets of her past. Her plight is contrasted against the background stories of her grandmother, Matilda, and her mother, Iris. The challenge of this book is not with the characters or the storyline, both of which have great potential. The difficulty arises from the heavy-handedness of the prose. The sentences are extremely clunky and evasive. They felt overwritten to the point of numbness. I found myself having to reread passages multiple times to gain their meaning. The chapters are rather short, which should invite for enjoyable reading and the steady development of the plot. Instead, the narrative reads like a series of dense essays that lack fluidity and cohesion. The emotion of the story fails to register due to the explanatory nature of the prose. I never become invested totally in the narrative. For sure, I missed a lot due to the elusiveness of the writing style.

[Eugenia O'Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decades ago, in the 1940s, a woman by the name of Matilda was hung for murder on the lush, green island of Dominica. Her story became the stuff of chante mas songs, songs sung during the pre-Lenten Masquerade and known to everyone.

Now, her grand-daughter, born in Dominica but partially raised in the United States, is back to discover the real story behind Matilda’s execution. Was Matilda really an Obeah woman with the power to heal as well as to kill? How did Matilda’s daughter, Lillian’s own mother, the beautiful Iris, lose her mind? To whom did the bones hidden in the forested mountains really belong?

Unburnable weaves together the lives of three women, Matilda, Iris and Lillian, into one amazing story of love, betrayal, murder, madness and loss, all against the background of the rich cultural history of Dominica. The vivid descriptions of the dresses, the costumes, the masquerades and the customs of the island make Unburnable a rich feast for the senses.

[Naori · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was like a cheap romance novel set in the Caribbean. Although there were some interesting sections regarding the tradition of voodoo in the Caribbean, it had little relevance to the plot and was completely ahistorical. Most of the novel was dedicated to developing the useless character of Teddy, the protaganist's love interest, and a senseless reiteration of male privilege. Overall, I was quite disappointed...

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend joining a book club because it challenges you to read books outside your preferred genre and/or comfort zone. I would have never read Unburnable if it wasn't for my work book club. I am glad I read this book. It is an interesting story about three generations of women living or growing up on the island of Dominica. It is hard to believe that this was John's first novel. It is a wonderful exploration of the African Diaspora contrasting, celebrating and critiquing the differences between African-Americans, Afro-Caribbeans and Africans. John tells the story of Matilda, Iris and Lillian and how the songs and legends told about Lillian's mother and grandmother are not what they seem. Teddy, Lillian's lover, is a controversial figure. I initially hated him although it is apparent that his presence in the book is important. On the surface, his character represents the requisite love interest. However, it becomes clear that Teddy is the eyes and ears of the African-American (or American) reader. His ignorance and arrogance is a key plot point for the conclusion of the story. John uses her knowledge of Caribbean, African-American and African culture to educate the reader on the many traditions of the Diaspora. One criticism, the "romance" between Teddy and Lillian seems forced. Nothing is what it seems in this book until the very end, which made this novel a unexpected thriller to read. I highly recommend.

[Mitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a difficult book to review. I feel certain that it's better than the average read, but what exactly to say about it afterwards?

Currently I am living on the island of Dominica, where the story takes place, and I was told that it would help me understand the culture of the people here. That set up a framework for reading it, of course.

The novel is structured so that the lives of three women are intertwined; those of a grandmother, a mother and a daughter. The latter is suffering from her traumatic childhood and she is trying to resolve those issues.

Since the content was too intense for me to take except in small doses, I found this type of structuring confusing.

The intensity came from the repeated acts of brutality that occasionally erupted from under the apparently thin skin of civility which the characters exhibited toward one another. I found myself hoping again and again that Dominicans were not as depicted in the book; that events were exaggerated for effect.

I'm afraid it isn't so, however. I have heard accounts here that are close to the same...things that indicate a strong sense of superstition leading people to treat one another cruelly and shamefully in my view.

On the credit side, the author came out with some penetrating insights into human nature that I appreciated.

I think overall it did give me insights into the culture here, but I am not sure I am happy I've eaten this fruit.

[BookOfCinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This year I decided to renew my library card and read more West Indian Literature, especially those written by women. This book was on my list to read for a long time so I decided to take this in my first library haul.

Unburnable details the life of three powerful Dominican women- Lillian, Matilda and Iris all linked by a powerful history that the granddaughter Lillian ran from but must now face. I think the plot and characters were in their own way, beautiful, strong, powerful, and conflicted. I absolutely loved the historical reference of Dominica and what it was like back in the 1940s. That for me really made me enjoy the novel a lot.

Two things I didn't necessarily like about the book:
1. It felt overwritten, it tried so hard to be deep and well meaningful that most of the prose felt force and overdone. I sometimes had to re-read paragraphs to fully understand what the Writer was trying to say. However, I cut some slack here because this is a debut novel.

2. The book could have used a few more pages to really dive into the three main characters. I felt they each had powerful stories to tell that would have resonated more with me had I gotten the opportunity to spend more time with them.

Overall, a decent West Indian novel. I do recommend adding this to your list of books to read.

[Felixe · Rating 3 out of 5]

so riveting and well-fleshed out. john does a wonderful job of weaving together familial and cultural histories. to me, the main fault was the almost condescending way she points to hidden details, stripping the final few chapters of nuance. nevertheless a great read!

[Rol-J Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me much longer than I expected, but certainly not because it was short on content or quality. This book is culturally-rich, multi-generational and certainly stereotype-challenging. This is the author's debut (and only?) novel, and it definitely packs a punch in 292 pages, covering so many aspects of Caribbean culture, with a very specific focus on Dominica and Creole culture. I absolutely enjoyed it and do expect that in the future I will read it in one sitting. I loved the twists, turns and surprises.

[Rashida · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like Mocha Girl's review. And I think that I would love the book that her review is describing. But, I DO think that her review is a true telling of what Unburnable is about. So, why doesn't this work for me? I think it has to do with execution. A good 3/4 of the novel is dedicated to the lead up to the great mystery and spends entirely too much on the blossoming of the relationship between the protagonist and the "love interest" (usefulness interest?). The meaty good stuff is saved for right before the end, and had the rest of the book been more like that, there would be significantly more stars here. There is a nagging question throughout. I wish John would have given more insight into the mental state of Lilian. Is she truly traumatized and mentally ill? Or is she completely sane and rational, but just responding to the situation in the only possible given her familial legacy and culture? To me, she seemed melodramatic, whiny, and a colossally bad decision maker. And I do not think that is what John intended. But the thing that burns about this novel, is that after you invest all that, make it through the less interesting beginning and middle, you begin to be rewarded with the really rich section towards the end. And then the end comes along. And just goes splat.

[Lyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was easy for me to identify with the plot of this novel as a young Dominican woman ;cudos to the author. However in my opinion if one did not grow up on this Island it would have carried as much substance to them as it did for me. The attitudes of each character was what struck me the most, typical Dominican ignorant slurs, gossiping and stereotyping. This book brought up the issue of class on the Island, the whole aspect of branding based on the surname in which you carry. It reminded me of stories that my grandmother recites to me from her 80 year old memory on occasions not only that it carries our culture in a way that no other Dominican book has before touching on very sensitive subjects such as voodoo or "obeah" for this is very real to me growing up having my grandmother tell me about girls who were "spoilt" or families having what we call "maleh" due to their grandmother being a "soucouyant"or grandfather being an "obeahman" so the children are now paying for their sins. It portrayed the Dominican society for what it was back then , and most of that culture has been passed down in a more modern nature. It identified the Dominican woman and the perplexity of her style , her beauty and her demeanour, this for me was the heart of the book, the display of the Dominican woman.

[Iejones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marie-Elena John uses the Caribbean carnival as the stage where native custom, family history, and West African culture collide forever changing the celebration of carnival for the people of Roseau in Dominica. In the freshman novel Unburnable John uses the celebration of carnival and carnival songs to reveal a unique history of West Indians in general while spanning the three generations of one family.
This story weaves together the history of Africans, Caribs, and Americans. The three women of Unburnable African grandmother Matilda, African-Carib daughter Iris and African-Carib-American Lillian provide a window through which history, inheritance, revenge, murder and alienation is created.
Unburnable forces us to confront ourselves as part of a larger history, one of family, community, country and race. Sprinkled throughout the story is: a white Rastafarian woman, obeah practitioners, Catholic nuns and African American man. After all the questions have been answered, Lillian has to choose to embrace or reject her inheritance. What carnival song will they sing about her, to know what she decides to do you have to read - Unburnable

[Revae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great debut novel! There were a lot of descriptions and background in the beginning. For me, the plot didn't get going until about chapter 11. Since I have an undergraduate degree in history, I appreciated the historical connections and foundations in African tradition. The book touches on traditions carried to the Carribean by African slaves and how hard they fought to maintain their culture. It made me think about as an African-American in the United States, the cultural tradtions and conncetions to Africa since slavery have been lost. Marie-Elena used French Creole sporadically throughout the novel, just enough to help me understand culture. The storyline was engaging. Each chapter highlights a different generation, until everything comes together. Lillian is inspired to return to Dominica to prove that her grandmother was not a murdering Obeahwoman. There was a lot more to get out of this book than the historical connections, such as religion, racism, hereditary mental health issues, and the power of love. I'm interested to read whatever else Marie-Elena John writes, and I definitely recommend this book.

[Gayla]

I enjoyed the descriptions of Dominica and the historical/cultural background. Even though I knew about much of the history John covered in the novel, the way she wrote about it had me eager to go back and learn more. Especially the parts about Masquerade. Unfortunately, the American boyfriend's character was a bit bare and even embarrassing at times. I had to push to get through those parts of the book to move on to the meaty and captivating historical portions of the story.... which was also where John's writing was at its best.

Overall I'm really glad to have found a contemporary writer writing about Dominica, especially around the topic of women and their place within the culture. It helped to put some of my own family history into context (my maternal grandmother was a Dominican).

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel is compelling and original. Despite the ending which seems almost akin to an old-style deus ex machina, it defies such easy expectations and breaks away from the cliches of the Caribbean. It is a nice counterpoint to such writers as, who have covered the territory of Dominica, Rhys and Shand-Allfrey. John is Antiguan but writes the island as if she were a local.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating history of the African presence in Dominica. I think a rare look at an island not too many people know much about and culture.

[Rosa Frei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unburnable is a hauntingly brilliant, powerful, and captivating book that is difficult to lay down. It is an evocative tale that skillfully blends mystery, folklore, and the complexities of identity. Lillian Baptiste’s return to her homeland, Dominica, after fleeing at 14, sets the stage for a confrontation with the haunting past she tried to escape. The story interweaves the vivid memories of her mother and grandmother, with deep-rooted secrets of a mountaintop community shadowed by superstition, scandal, and tragedy.

Author Marie-Elena John captures the contrasts between these worlds while exploring Lillian’s journey of self-discovery and reconciliation. As Lillian seeks to uncover the truth behind her mother’s madness and the mysterious death that marked her family's history, she’s supported by Teddy, a man whose enduring love for her may offer a path toward healing.

John’s prose is lush and evocative, richly textured with West Indian history and African cultural influences. Unburnable stands out not only for its intriguing plot but also for the way it weaves together the personal with the historical, offering a poignant meditation on family, legacy, and the unspoken scars carried across generations.

This book is a gem, it will leave you moved and deeply touched. Highly recommendable.

[Avani Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly this was a deep cut

Basically this book follows three generations of Dominican women —— Matilda, Iris and Lillian —— as they navigate their own insanity. Lillian essentially seeks answers about her family’s past and it leads to an exploration of African Diaspora in the US and the Caribbean, reinterpreting Black history, looking at colonialism in religion and the practice of Obeah, and reflecting on years of violence against women.

Typically when I read these types of sagas, the story is very linear and goes from generation to generation to generation. I think that the lack of linearity in this timeline and just alternating between Lillian in the present and Matilda/Iris in the past is more effective in illustrating Lillian’s declining mental health (and drawing parallels with Iris’s fate as well) but I was just drawn significantly more towards the historical rather than the present. The writing style and quality and flow of the story was just gorgeous in the parts where Matilda and Iris’s lives are discussed and I just wasn’t as attached to Lillian and the writing style for modern day affairs as much.

6/10 incredibly beautiful but truly and deeply unsettling (in good ways but still uncomfortable)

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my read the world challenge. Marie-Elena John is from Antigua, although parts of this do take place in Dominica. This is another three stories in one but the three stories are three generation of women. Matilda was considered a witch and was hung for murder, her daughter Iris who at the age of fourteen became a much older man's mistress, and then her daughter Lillian who after learning about her mother's misfortune and death and was shipped away to America to be raised by other family members. Lillian, older decides to go back to childhood home to learn the true history of her past.

The writing of this book reminded me of Their Eyes Were Watching God, but there are some scenes in her that are graphic and hard to read. You don't find out all three stories until the end, they are pieced meal throughout the story, so you think you know and then you get more information. Some of which was hard to follow. The character of Teddy was confusing as to why he was really there except to be the audience of Lillian's story and to once again be a male influence that would lead to this family's downfall. It is a tragedy for sure.

[E Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unburnable has a strong and interesting story but doesn’t quite reach its full potential. The book is ambitious, taking on big themes like history, identity, and family secrets, but some parts feel a bit shallow and hard to connect with. The writing is okay—good work for a debut novel—but not especially powerful or moving.

I was hoping the Antiguan author would write about Antigua, but instead the story is set in Dominica. Still, it was nice to learn more about the West Indies in general, and the setting adds some cultural depth. Overall, Unburnable is a decent and thoughtful read with great ideas, even if it doesn’t fully deliver on them.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

What the hell was that ending?! Talk about a cliffhanger.

Listened to the book, which was certainly a different experience than reading it would've been. Learned quite a bit about the African Diaspora in the West Indies and the struggles in blending and interacting with different cultures, races, and religions. The different eras provided a brief history of Dominica, and the stories were told with smooth transitions.

Although I didn't like the ending because I wanted just a little more, I liked the way it ended from a narrative and stylistic point of view.

[Joya Cousin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm more than a little bit ashamed to have taken so long to getting around to reading this rich novel by a fellow Antiguan.

The multigenerational tale is a tapestry of Caribbean culture, richly woven with musical folklore, mystical sensuality and just enough controversy to make it memorable and provocative.

As a person with a maternal Dominican Carib great-grandmother, it was both exhilarating and heartbreaking to experience the history and beauty of our islands as told through Marie-Elena's eyes.

A wonderful work!

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredibly well-crafted novel. John weaves together the stories of 3 generations of Dominican women in a style that also serves to explore the history of this small Caribbean island. The novel manages to capture perfectly the societal context in which these women lived their lives and to recount the story in a way that manages to honor the twists in each woman’s story. It is really amazing that John is able to explore so much about the history, people and beliefs of this island in such a compact and engaging novel.

[Creighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one of the Caribbean class books and this was probably my favorite so far, the mystery surrounding so many characters was really compelling and the driving family narrative was paid off fairly well in my opinion - I think it gets a knock largely because so much remains sort of unclear and is really spacey and abstract and for the sake of a class that’s not super ideal but it’s not a bad read just in general and a rare occurrence of a book I read for a class that I might return to just as a for fun read later in life

[Nadine Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved everything about this debut novel. Well researched The way the author ties in the characters, as well as the geographical and cultural references almost make this novel seem like a recap of Dominican oral histories. Maroons, Caribs, and Igbo cultures, the History of Ash Wednesday, Masquerades, Jacko's Flat, the boiling lake, etc....all things that I had no or limited knowledge about before reading this book.

[Book Lover]

This book was fine, but I ended up giving up at about 80%. The way this was done was quite confusing with multiple POVs interconnected with stories from the past. But there was no clear narrator for the “past” portions and it took a second to catch up to what was happening. Definitely a few too many POVs, and what I took to be the main POV was not present enough.

I liked the author’s depictions of the culture, food, religion, customs. But it felt held back by the order and narration.

[Katie Tolentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this story draws you in quickly with a bit of a lag in the middle. The end overwhelms you with information in a never ending explosion of new possible answers for the main character. I enjoyed the majority of the book but I think the obscure ending took away from the feeling of conclusion in the characters lives. - Katie