The Emigrants

by George Lamming

The Emigrants is an elaborately conceived novel, dense with dynamic characters and evocative details. First published in 1954, it focuses initially on the emigrant journey, then on the settling-in process. The journey by sea and subsequent attempts at resettlement provide the fictional framework for Lamming's exploration of the alienation and displacement caused by colonialism.

This is the epic journey of a group of West Indians who emigrate to Great Britain in the 1950s in search of educational opportunities unattainable at home. Seeking to redefine themselves in the "mother country," an idealized landscape that they have been taught to revere, the emigrants settle uncomfortably in England's industrial cities. Within two years, ghettoization is firmly in place. The emigrants discover the meaning of their marginality in the British Empire in an environment that is unexpectedly hostile and strange. For some, alienation prompts a new sense of community, a new sense of identity as West Indians. For others, alienation leads to a crisis of confrontation with the law and fugitive status.

There is a wealth of information here about the genesis of the black British community and about the cultural differences between the black British and West Indian/Caribbean.

Genres: Fiction

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

George Lamming was born in the Caribbean island of Barbados on June 8, 1927. He attended The Combermere School which has produced other Barbadian literary icons including Frank Collymore and Austin Clarke. He left that island for Trinidad in 1946, teaching school until 1950. He then emigrated to England where, for a short time, he worked in a factory. In 1951 he became a broadcaster for the BBC Colonial Service. He entered academia in 1967 as a writer-in-residence and lecturer in the Creative Arts Centre and Department of Education at the University of the West Indies.

Since then, he has has served as a Visiting Professor and Writer-in-Residence at the City University of New York. He has worked as a faculty member and lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Pennsylvania. He has also served as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Duke University and a Visiting Professor of Africana Studies and Literary Arts at Brown University. In addition to his American teaching and lecturing experience, Lamming has also taught or lectured at universities in Tanzania, Denmark, and Australia.

Reviews

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the three-star rating, I was rather disappointed with this book and it took me so long to read. I read this directly after finishing Lamming's, 'In the Castle of My Skin' which is the first book of the series and although this is supposed to be a continuation of that book, they could have been two separate books entirely.

I really enjoyed the first section which focuses on their voyage to England on the boat where we are introduced to a myriad of characters that represent multiple contrasting backgrounds. However, the other two sections of the book were confusing due to the high amount of characters and overall I felt detached from characters that I presumed I would have loved or felt sympathy for.

As expected, Lamming's writing continued in its excellence which definitely brings up the rating of this book as he is able to get inside the characters and join them together.

[Melanie Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complex novel with various changes in style, involving changes of narrator. I liked its complexity, whilst at the same time I found it confusing at times. I think I need to read it again, because I think I missed some nuances, when I read it the first time. It's a bit like reading a long piece of poetry and needing to reread it several times to better understand its depth of thought.

[Lillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read this book for class, I cannot imagine ever reading it voluntarily. However, I do see how it's an excellent commentary on the emigrant experience, it's just not for me.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars— A story of emigrants from islands in the Caribbean, their journey to London in search of a “better break”, and their new lives in the colonial mother country (England). The characters are intertwined in a narrative that seems both disjointed but connected through their shared journey to England. It reminds me of the intricate weaving of gossip told amongst friends and elders in the Caribbean. Lots of rewarding twists and turns that make each narration as engaging as the others. A lot of time passes in the novel which can be confusing if you don’t pay attention but I think the book being divided in three parts helps with this. What I enjoyed most is the cadence of the prose in its blending of dialect and patois from Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados, and St Lucia.

[Ashlyn Wendt · Rating 1 out of 5]

The way that this book is written is basically a non-linear narrative. There is no timeline, and you can't always decipher whether something is happening in the present or the past. Although it was a brilliant way to show the problems that Emigrants may have when traveling, it got too far away from me. I wasn't actually able to follow the storyline or connect with any of the characters. It was just confusing.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel captures the chaos and milieu of England in the 1950s, the journey and arrival of one cohort of the Windrush generation. The flux of characters and unattributed dialogue convey to the reader a palpable sense of the transience and tumult of their migration. Every person one meets on the journey is a stranger and despite the common experience, remains a stranger; no one is sure if the person next to them will survive their time in England, if they will succeed or fail, establish themselves or fade away, stay or succeed enough to return. The characters perform this by never getting close enough to the reader. They never even get close enough to each other to learn their true natures, their true intentions. The reader is only ever treated to a brief interiority of the characters, and some of them barely get a name. Lamming's prose, via its non-linearity, non-structure, its confusion, and its unease is performative of the atmosphere and history he wants to convey. The reader is meant to be feel the lurch of the ocean, the nausea of arrival, a keen sense of dis-ease and unbelonging in their arrival. It's a brilliant novel.