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Kipling Plass
Heartbreaking, shocking, and lyrical, "Kipling Plass" introduces us to a teenager abandoned by his mother after her mental breakdown. Set in a multiracial Guyanese village during the 1980s economic collapse, the novel grapples with the tensions between social solidarity and dog-eat-dog individualistic ruthlessness. Amidst crumbling social structures, Kipling Plass and his teenage friends navigate physical and emotional survival, all while wrestling with their own confusions of sexual and social identity.
332 pages, Paperback
First published December 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 18, 2025
I don't think I've read any book recently that was richer in culture than Semple's Kipling Plass. It is an amazing exploration into Guyanese culture and politics, primarily in the post-independence period, but Semple skilfully includes historical nuggets that take us back to indentureship, for example. Towards the end of this novel, I almost felt like I was reading what could be the sequel to David Dabydeen's Sweet Li Jie, if only because of the lengths both authors go to showcase the melting pot (and storm in a teacup) that Guyana became as a result of colonisation.
Surprise, twists, turns and a journey only a writer rooted in the Caribbean could take a reader on, Kipling Plass is a witty novel about dire socio-economic conditions and is a true representation of Caribbean storytelling tradition. We make light of very serious matters, yet we remain so aware and cautious of when any line has been crossed. Semple captures this very well in his handling of sexual violence, incest, domestic violence, corruption, poverty, piracy, and the list goes on. All writing is political, to some extent, but Semple avoids equivocation in his treatment of Forbes Burnham and his politics in this novel. He even uses the famed innuendo of 'King Kong' to describe Burnham, an innuendo that is widely attributed to Walter Rodney, and that ultimately took him to his grave. Semple repeatedly alludes to the foreign goods ban instituted under Burnham's government, and presents it in such a way that the reader's only option is to ridicule it, and rightly so.
Apart from the politics, this is a novel that is rich in language, book and film references, and one that certainly does not come up short in relation to nicknames. If anyone ever asked me for a recommendation of quintessential Guyanese literature, going forward, it would have to be this.
Surprise, twists, turns and a journey only a writer rooted in the Caribbean could take a reader on, Kipling Plass is a witty novel about dire socio-economic conditions and is a true representation of Caribbean storytelling tradition. We make light of very serious matters, yet we remain so aware and cautious of when any line has been crossed. Semple captures this very well in his handling of sexual violence, incest, domestic violence, corruption, poverty, piracy, and the list goes on. All writing is political, to some extent, but Semple avoids equivocation in his treatment of Forbes Burnham and his politics in this novel. He even uses the famed innuendo of 'King Kong' to describe Burnham, an innuendo that is widely attributed to Walter Rodney, and that ultimately took him to his grave. Semple repeatedly alludes to the foreign goods ban instituted under Burnham's government, and presents it in such a way that the reader's only option is to ridicule it, and rightly so.
Apart from the politics, this is a novel that is rich in language, book and film references, and one that certainly does not come up short in relation to nicknames. If anyone ever asked me for a recommendation of quintessential Guyanese literature, going forward, it would have to be this.
April 27, 2025
This a a masterpiece of a novel. Set in Guyana in the 1980's, it brings the reader face to face with the best and the worst of mankind. Solidarity and ruthlessness, love and hate, cruelty and kindness, deceit, dishonesty, truth and nobility. It evokes a rollercoaster of emotions: sadness, humor, triumph, defeat, loneliness, abandonment and a sense of belonging. It explores themes of sex and sexuality, friendship and camaraderie.
This story is told against the backdrop of a failing Guyana economy and is narrated by the protagonist, a teenager abandoned by his mentally ill mother,
The use of Guyanese creole is absolutely brilliant and the similes are lyrical and entertaining. All of the characters are as colourful as the language.
This novel is not just social commentary, it digs deep into the depths of our Caribbean past and present political, economic and social landscape.
5 STARS
This story is told against the backdrop of a failing Guyana economy and is narrated by the protagonist, a teenager abandoned by his mentally ill mother,
The use of Guyanese creole is absolutely brilliant and the similes are lyrical and entertaining. All of the characters are as colourful as the language.
This novel is not just social commentary, it digs deep into the depths of our Caribbean past and present political, economic and social landscape.
5 STARS
March 16, 2025
Kipling Plass could have been a bleak novel, but it is too vibrant for that. Berkley Wendell Semple paints his characters in full colour, their outsized personalities competing with Guyana's vivid landscape for attention.
The protagonist Kip, a bookish, sensitive 15 year old boy, is being raised in the multi-ethnic, seaside farming village of Mahaicony. His community is so rough around the edges that when his friend Hari tells him “You come from mad people and you is also a incest boy, and that make plenty people mad. I go make sure you don’t run out your head for true and turn like mad skunt Kangalang Harry Arnold”, Kip knows the statement is a declaration of love.
This is a novel about community, where toxic masculinity and abiding show-don’t-tell masculine expressions of love coexist without contradiction. It grapples with difficult subjects: mental illness, deprivation, sexual depravity, and intense violence without pivoting towards exploitation pornography. The characters are presented as whole human beings, often insensitive, but also inclined towards supportiveness.
A fun bonus reward for the reader is the novel's built-in crash course in first wave Anglophone Caribbean literature. This is not a story of sweetness and light, but its delivery is so well balanced that reading it is pure delight.
The protagonist Kip, a bookish, sensitive 15 year old boy, is being raised in the multi-ethnic, seaside farming village of Mahaicony. His community is so rough around the edges that when his friend Hari tells him “You come from mad people and you is also a incest boy, and that make plenty people mad. I go make sure you don’t run out your head for true and turn like mad skunt Kangalang Harry Arnold”, Kip knows the statement is a declaration of love.
This is a novel about community, where toxic masculinity and abiding show-don’t-tell masculine expressions of love coexist without contradiction. It grapples with difficult subjects: mental illness, deprivation, sexual depravity, and intense violence without pivoting towards exploitation pornography. The characters are presented as whole human beings, often insensitive, but also inclined towards supportiveness.
A fun bonus reward for the reader is the novel's built-in crash course in first wave Anglophone Caribbean literature. This is not a story of sweetness and light, but its delivery is so well balanced that reading it is pure delight.
July 2, 2025
Kipling Plass is a coming of age novel, but so much more.
The voice in the novel is steeped in Creolese and cultural rhythm. It's so textured, so alive, you feel like you're eavesdropping on conversations in a Guyanese backyard, or gyaphing with people who truly understand the country and its history.
What struck me most was how subtly, yet powerfully, race relations are explored. It gives you a slice-of-life window into life in Mahaicony, and the diasporic tension of the time, yet camaraderie and and tenderness that unfolds in every paragraph.
Kipling Plass gave me characters who live, breathe, stumble, and grow. You don’t read this novel, you sit with it, in it. You let it live beside you.
Highly recommend! 10/10.
The voice in the novel is steeped in Creolese and cultural rhythm. It's so textured, so alive, you feel like you're eavesdropping on conversations in a Guyanese backyard, or gyaphing with people who truly understand the country and its history.
What struck me most was how subtly, yet powerfully, race relations are explored. It gives you a slice-of-life window into life in Mahaicony, and the diasporic tension of the time, yet camaraderie and and tenderness that unfolds in every paragraph.
Kipling Plass gave me characters who live, breathe, stumble, and grow. You don’t read this novel, you sit with it, in it. You let it live beside you.
Highly recommend! 10/10.
December 27, 2024
"What the skunt is this?" As he catches a baby.
Guyanese historical fiction. A coming of age novel and a story about Caribbean boyhood, with "whodunit" and found family themes.
Also, a great 1) a repository of classic film and Caribbean literature and 2) glossary and painting of Guyanese culture. Culturally immersive and reminds me of The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh for its "slice-of-life"-ness.
Not an easy read, per se, but an interesting one for sure that I would love to hear narrated by natives. Would make a great book club pick.
**This review is based on an ARC.
Guyanese historical fiction. A coming of age novel and a story about Caribbean boyhood, with "whodunit" and found family themes.
Also, a great 1) a repository of classic film and Caribbean literature and 2) glossary and painting of Guyanese culture. Culturally immersive and reminds me of The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh for its "slice-of-life"-ness.
Not an easy read, per se, but an interesting one for sure that I would love to hear narrated by natives. Would make a great book club pick.
**This review is based on an ARC.
November 24, 2025
this book means so much to me
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews