Limbo: A Novel about Jamaica

by Esther Figueroa

Limbo is a character driven environmental murder mystery set in the shifting sands of Jamaica’s environmental policies. Flora is the dynamic leader of an environmental organization set to expose the corporate greed and political hypocrisy that has polluted so much of the Jamaica’s once pristine coastal environment. Funding difficulties as well as personal crises loom as Flora attempts to take on the big business of the hotel industry despite threats to her life. Old friends and revelations from the past surface to reveal that all is not what it seems to be. A new lover tempts Flora to consider a life that she has pushed away for years, causing her to ask herself the fundamental How does one change a life? How does one change a society?When a film-maker dies trying to document environmental degradation, the plot heats up as Flora races the clock to expose the culprits before she herself becomes a victim.With fantastic characters steeped in Jamaican culture and language, LIMBO is both a fluid, fun mystery and a seething condemnation of Jamaican’s political and environmental turmoil.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction-novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 4, 2014

Reviews

[Matt Cappo · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Limbo, Figueroa performs an intensely interesting weaving of the personal and the national. Jamaica’s picturesque environment is being defaced by the horrors of exploitative industry, corrupt government, and an unfazed populace. Flora and her friends seem to stand alone against the tsunami sized tides of neo-colonial interests. The insurmountable nature of her task is as destructive to Flora’s psyche as it is to Jamaica’s land. It is this sense, the personal, that the novel excels—Flora’s midlife crisis is distinctly relate-able and human. Watching her struggle with her demons, doubts, and even successes is a refreshing treat. Likewise, her incredibly engaging passing insights into her island keep you reading, hunting for that next interesting scientific explanation, deliciously rendered meal description, or juicy community tidbit.

Where the novel sometimes falls short is delivering on the world outside Flora’s direct view. Her friends, particularly Jerome and Lilac, can seem one-note. While their personalities and relationship with Flora is initially interesting, their reactions to her and everything else quickly become rote. They lack her depth, her indecision and dynamism. As a result, they tend to fade into the background.

The ending doesn’t deliver on the mystery set-up, seemingly intentionally. This would be fine except that the resolution that the actual resolution seems rushed, lacking in detail, and perhaps too convenient for me personally.

Nevertheless, the novel is worth a read for what it attempts and what it realizes of Flora’s personal story. Just don’t be alarmed when everything else isn’t as masterfully rendered.

[Tsipi Erann]

This is not a literary masterpiece, but it isn't a terrible read either.

I am in no way averse to activism in my literature. I'm actually quite fond of it. And this novel is certainly trying to make some urgent points about environmental destruction, amidst official and business corruption, the legacy of colonialism, capitalism and financial imperialism, and more. I'm here for it!

But I do expect literature to be literary, and I felt that the story aspect of this novel suffered, and was barely a backdrop for the message. I liked the characters Figueroa envisioned, though I didn't entirely buy them as realistic. Is the social elite of Kingston really that gay? Is it believable that a 23 year old just kind of decides in advance that he is in love with a woman in her forties, and that is just that? No issues? I wouldn't be nearly satisfied without LGBT storylines, but this seems just too rainbow-y. l

The crimes and mysteries are an aside, and no, at no conference does an environmental activist get a TEN MINUTE STANDING OVATION.

And yet, I could tell from the descriptions how much Figueroa loves Jamaica. I loved getting to peek into aspects of a place I couldn't otherwise, whether linguistically, geographically, historically, culturally...

I wish it were a better novel, but I'm not in any way sorry I read it.

[Marina Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esther Figueroa is an activist, film maker, writers, and educator (among many other things) from Kingston, Jamaica. She brings together her life experiences and professional education into the novel Limbo. Yes, it's choppy and leaves much to be desired. However, there is an art to making a novel thought-provoking, informative, and still open to reader interpretation. Things I loved: use of local language in character dialogue (Jamaican dialect), unresolved conflicts prompt the reader to EXPERIENCE limbo themselves, the raging sexuality (!!) and Queerness sprinkled throughout, and how it encompasses the reality of global development in the Caribbean (the conflicts in the novel are very real). Flora's actions prompts those of us balancing academic privilege and being a local community member to consider how we are engaging with our motivations and professional interests.

A couple of issues that keep me from giving it 5 stars: it's not much of a "literary adventure" (not much investment in developing characters, hooking us on the plot). Nonetheless, this book is worth a read! Caribbean Studies class or not.

Be prepared for no ending. We readers in the US expect closure. You will not get closure from this novel, not in the way you think. Esther leaves us in limbo with many questions, much to be desired, yet much joy and forward thinking.

[Lisa Humphrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly I see why it is used for Caribbean literature classes but it is also amateur writing. I couldn't care about the characters and therefore couldn't care about what they cared about. Good attempted message, poor execution.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery takes a backseat to Flora's personal discoveries. These discoveries felt like padding because Figueroa doesn't make me care about the characters involved.