Christopher

by Geoffrey Drayton

An imaginative small boy leaves his childhood behind in the course of a school holiday.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Ivy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I woke up this morning and decided that I needed to re-read some of the literary classics and into my thoughts popped this lovely little novel that was written by a white Barbadian author called Geoffrey Drayton. This novel came to my mind because it's very close to my heart and it's also one of the most ignored and underrated novels in British West Indian prose fiction. I will state bluntly that perhaps Christopher is ignored because some readers don't really identify with the author's voice and with the predicament of his protagonist. This novel deals with the life of a young white boy in 20th century colonial Barbados, who feels alienated because of his race and his parents' socio-economic status. I know a lot of people will be thinking that it's just another "poor little rich boy so who cares..." kind of story. But it's more than that. This little boy may have been rich and white living in a society dominated by black people but he did feel very marginalized. Sometimes it is hard being a member of the minority even when others term it as an "elite minority". One has to be more politically correct than everybody else and one can never quite fit in. There's the whole issue of how the individual feels unable to claim his country as his own because others make him feel that he is not entitled to that claim. Sometimes kids really are punished for the sins of their ancestors. The little boy Christopher lives with such a legacy.

When I checked this novel out on goodreads I was so shocked and mad to see that not one single person had written a sentence about this book. I had read this years ago and can't recall all the important details ( literary details like symbolism, imagery, thematic structure, plot coherency and even character development etc.). However I do plan to get myself a new copy ( which is hard to locate since it's out of print ) but I thought I would write a few words of praise for an author who needs to be given more kudos. Geoffrey Drayton, like a lot of British West Indian whites in his generation, felt out of place in the island of his birth and has been marginalized as an author. He is a very talented man and Christopher has a great story to tell. It's about a boy who can't communicate well with those close to him and whose sole confidante is the black maid Gip. I know that last part sounds almost like a colonial cliche but it was a lovely coming of age story. The link below is the only article I can find on the internet that provides additional information on this author:

http://www.artsetcbarbados.com/featur...