For the Love of My Name

by Lakshmi Persaud

Torn between confession and self-justification, President for Life, Robert Augustus Devonish writes his memoirs as his country falls apart around him; Kamilia prepares for a workers' last stand against his regime; Vasu sets off to investigate the rumours of untold horrors in a commune deep in the interior; and Marguerite Devonish has to decide between loyalty to family or country in bringing to an end her brother's crimes.

Through these and many other unforgettable characters Lakshmi Persaud tells of the last days of the Caribbean island of Maya before it sinks beneath the sea. This challenging novel profoundly dramatises the consequences of ethnic prejudice in a culture of masks which gives licence to individuals to abandon moral responsibility for their actions. Its echoes resonate across the killing fields of Bosnia, Kosova, East Timor - or wherever state power gives free rein to the most primal impulses of kith and kin.

Told through multiple voices, whose tones range through the lyrical, the direct and unvarnished, the conversational and the polished, For the Love of My Name weaves a striking tapestry of hatreds and loves, duty and the degradation of consciousness, despairs and hopes. Above all the bright threads of human resilience glint in the weave.

335 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Lakshmi Persaud was born in Tunapuna, in the village of Pasea, Trinidad. Her grandparents, Hindus from Uttar Pradesh, moved from India to the Caribbean in the 1890s.

She left Trinidad to do her BA (Hons) and her Ph.D. at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland and her Post-graduate Diploma in Education at Reading University, UK.

Dr Persaud taught at well-regarded grammar schools in the West Indies (Queen’s College in Guyana, Harrison college in Barbados and St. Augustine Girl’s High School in Trinidad).

She moved to the UK in 1974 with her husband, Professor Bishnodat Persaud, prominent economist, and her three children, Rajendra, Avinash and Sharda. Lakshmi wrote articles on socio-economic concerns for newspapers and magazines for many years, she also read and simultaneously recorded books in Philosophy, Economics and Literature for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London.

She began a new career in the late 1980s - writing fiction. Her short story 'See Saw Margery Daw', was broadcast by the BBC World service on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th November 1995 .

Her first novel 'Butterfly in the Wind' was published by Peepal Tree Press in 1990. It was reprinted in 1996. It is still selling well and now in its third impression. 'Sastra' was published in 1993.

In October 1994, the Trinidad Guardian published the best seller list for Caribbean books published abroad. At the time Lakshmi Persaud had published two novels in the U.K. 'Sastra' was placed first on the list and 'Butterfly in the Wind', fifth.

'For the Love of my Name', her third novel, was launched in December 1999 and public demand has meant it has also had to be reprinted.

In March 2004, 'Raise the Lanterns High' was published by Black Amber and received excellent reviews in the UK, the Caribbean and internationally.

In addition, Lakshmi's books are now rated 'best-selling' by Amazon.co.uk.

There has been increasing recognition of Lakshmi Persaud’s work by academic institutions. Her novels are being used as texts in Caribbean and post-colonial literature courses in a number of Universities including: Warwick, Birmingham, Goldsmiths College (London), London Metropolitan, Washington, Toronto, Puerto Rico, California (Los Angeles), Miami and Mills College (California), and The University of the West Indies. Extracts from her novels have been used in English examinations in the Caribbean from '11+' to GCSE level.

In recognition of her work, Warwick University has recently established a 'Lakshmi Persaud Research Fellowship' at its Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural studies.