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The Final Passage
Caryl Phillips's first novel tells the story of Leila, a nineteen-year-old woman living on a small Caribbean island in the 1950s. Unsatisfied with life on the island, Leila decides to leave her friends and follow her mother overseas, taking her restless husband Michael and her young son with her. Her subsequent passage to England brings her face to face with the consequences of the decisions she has made to determine her life on her own terms.
208 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1985
11 people are currently reading
393 people want to read
About the author
Caryl Phillips
52 books217 followers Caryl Phillips was born in St.Kitts and came to Britain at the age of four months. He grew up in Leeds, and studied English Literature at Oxford University.
He began writing for the theatre and his plays include Strange Fruit (1980), Where There is Darkness (1982) and The Shelter (1983). He won the BBC Giles Cooper Award for Best Radio Play of the year with The Wasted Years (1984). He has written many dramas and documentaries for radio and television, including, in 1996, the three-hour film of his own novel The Final Passage. He wrote the screenplay for the film Playing Away (1986) and his screenplay for the Merchant Ivory adaptation of V.S.Naipaul's The Mystic Masseur (2001) won the Silver Ombu for best screenplay at the Mar Del Plata film festival in Argentina.
His novels are: The Final Passage (1985), A State of Independence (1986), Higher Ground (1989), Cambridge (1991), Crossing the River (1993), The Nature of Blood (1997), A Distant Shore (2003), Dancing in the Dark (2005), In the Falling Snow (2009), The Lost Child (2015), A View of the Empire at Sunset (2018) and Another Man in the Street (2025). His non-fiction: The European Tribe (1987), The Atlantic Sound (2000), A New World Order (2001), Foreigners (2007), and Colour Me English (2011). He is the editor of two anthologies: Extravagant Strangers: A Literature of Belonging (1997) and The Right Set: An Anthology of Writing on Tennis (1999). His work has been translated into over a dozen languages.
He was named Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 1992 and was on the 1993 Granta list of Best of Young British Writers. His literary awards include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a British Council Fellowship, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, and Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, for Crossing the River which was also shortlisted for the 1993 Booker Prize. A Distant Shore was longlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, and won the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize; Dancing in the Dark won the 2006 PEN/Beyond the Margins Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of the Arts, and recipient of the 2013 Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence.
He has taught at universities in Ghana, Sweden, Singapore, Barbados, India, and the United States, and in 1999 was the University of the West Indies Humanities Scholar of the Year. In 2002-3 he was a Fellow at the Centre for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. Formerly Henry R. Luce Professor of Migration and Social Order at Columbia University, he is presently Professor of English at Yale University. He is an Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford University.
A regular contributor to The Guardian and The New Republic, his most recent book is, Another Man in the Street.
(taken from carylphillips.com official web site)
He began writing for the theatre and his plays include Strange Fruit (1980), Where There is Darkness (1982) and The Shelter (1983). He won the BBC Giles Cooper Award for Best Radio Play of the year with The Wasted Years (1984). He has written many dramas and documentaries for radio and television, including, in 1996, the three-hour film of his own novel The Final Passage. He wrote the screenplay for the film Playing Away (1986) and his screenplay for the Merchant Ivory adaptation of V.S.Naipaul's The Mystic Masseur (2001) won the Silver Ombu for best screenplay at the Mar Del Plata film festival in Argentina.
His novels are: The Final Passage (1985), A State of Independence (1986), Higher Ground (1989), Cambridge (1991), Crossing the River (1993), The Nature of Blood (1997), A Distant Shore (2003), Dancing in the Dark (2005), In the Falling Snow (2009), The Lost Child (2015), A View of the Empire at Sunset (2018) and Another Man in the Street (2025). His non-fiction: The European Tribe (1987), The Atlantic Sound (2000), A New World Order (2001), Foreigners (2007), and Colour Me English (2011). He is the editor of two anthologies: Extravagant Strangers: A Literature of Belonging (1997) and The Right Set: An Anthology of Writing on Tennis (1999). His work has been translated into over a dozen languages.
He was named Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 1992 and was on the 1993 Granta list of Best of Young British Writers. His literary awards include the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a British Council Fellowship, a Lannan Foundation Fellowship, and Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, for Crossing the River which was also shortlisted for the 1993 Booker Prize. A Distant Shore was longlisted for the 2003 Booker Prize, and won the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize; Dancing in the Dark won the 2006 PEN/Beyond the Margins Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Society of the Arts, and recipient of the 2013 Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence.
He has taught at universities in Ghana, Sweden, Singapore, Barbados, India, and the United States, and in 1999 was the University of the West Indies Humanities Scholar of the Year. In 2002-3 he was a Fellow at the Centre for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. Formerly Henry R. Luce Professor of Migration and Social Order at Columbia University, he is presently Professor of English at Yale University. He is an Honorary Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford University.
A regular contributor to The Guardian and The New Republic, his most recent book is, Another Man in the Street.
(taken from carylphillips.com official web site)
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April 2, 2022
3.5*
Utterly depressing, but at the same time very human. There's no doubt that Caryl Phillips is a gifted writer. It took me a couple of pages to get used to the narrative style, because the author started the story right at the beginning of the "final passage." But I was soon catching up with the story and the protagonist's sufferings.
Why Leila wanted to marry Michael is an absolute mystery to me. He didn't care for her at all. Disaster was bound to happen. Did Leila behave the way she did because her mom was emotionally distant? Does that explain why she didn't know how to assess other people's feelings towards her?
Another theme dealt with in this book is immigration. Was it right to move away or should one have stayed? I thought the ending was good, even though it was quite open and some readers may be annoyed that there's not a definite answer to Leila's story.
Utterly depressing, but at the same time very human. There's no doubt that Caryl Phillips is a gifted writer. It took me a couple of pages to get used to the narrative style, because the author started the story right at the beginning of the "final passage." But I was soon catching up with the story and the protagonist's sufferings.
Why Leila wanted to marry Michael is an absolute mystery to me. He didn't care for her at all. Disaster was bound to happen. Did Leila behave the way she did because her mom was emotionally distant? Does that explain why she didn't know how to assess other people's feelings towards her?
Another theme dealt with in this book is immigration. Was it right to move away or should one have stayed? I thought the ending was good, even though it was quite open and some readers may be annoyed that there's not a definite answer to Leila's story.
May 14, 2020
I hate Michael, that´s all I want to say about this book. I didn´t like a single thing about it .
December 2, 2023
If I ever meet Michael it's on sight
May 7, 2020
el final???? que alguien me lo explique que soy tonta jaja
September 12, 2020
Recensione originale: https://sonnenbarke.wordpress.com/202...
La prima parte di questo libro si intitola "The End". Pensavo che la storia partisse dalla fine per poi proseguire a ritroso, ma avvicinandomi alla fine del libro ho capito che il senso era un altro.
La storia si svolge intorno alla fine degli anni Cinquanta, quando le Indie Occidentali fanno ancora parte dell'Impero britannico. Leila è con il figlioletto Calvin al porto, in fila per salire sulla nave che li porterà in Inghilterra. Sta aspettando suo marito Michael, che però tarda ad arrivare. Quando arriva salgono sulla nave che salperà poi alla volta della madrepatria. Da qui la narrazione procede fra vari balzi indietro, non è del tutto lineare ma questo non la rende difficile da seguire.
È la storia di Leila, che ho immaginato come una donna matura appena l'ho incontrata, solo per poi scoprire che ha appena 19 anni. Leila vive su un'isola delle Indie Occidentali insieme al figlio Calvin, che a giudicare da quello che viene raccontato dovrebbe avere pochi mesi, forse al massimo un anno (l'età precisa non viene mai menzionata). È sposata con Michael, ma non vivono insieme: già la sera delle nozze lui le ha sputato in faccia e se n'è andato. Michael è un perdigiorno, uno scansafatiche a cui piace solo bere e che preferibilmente non farebbe niente nella vita, a parte forse sedurre le donne, ma anche questo non è chiaro. Già da tempo ha una relazione con Beverley, dalla quale ha avuto un figlio: Beverley aveva aspettato per anni che il marito, emigrato negli Stati Uniti, le scrivesse di raggiungerlo, ma questo non è mai accaduto e così ha instaurato una sorta di relazione con Michael. Tuttavia questo non ha impedito a Michael di corteggiare e poi sposare Leila, con la quale non ha però mai, assolutamente mai avuto un vero rapporto di tipo affettivo. Leila è sempre lasciata da parte, dal giorno stesso delle nozze. Ma questo non significa che Michael ami Beverley. Michael non ama nessuno, se non se stesso, e anche questo è dubbio.
Il libro è fatto di immensi silenzi: Michael che va a casa di Beverley e mangia chino sul piatto senza parlare, Beverley che senza parlare gli porge il piatto con la cena, Leila che senza parlare accetta tutto quello che Michael fa. Sembrano tutti dei personaggi senza vita, in particolare Leila pare priva di emozioni, anche se è chiaro che non è così. Come dirà verso la fine del libro, Leila vive nella rassegnazione e nell'attesa. La rassegnazione è una delle protagoniste principali del romanzo, infatti. Capisco poi che Leila abbia l'impressione di essere in costante attesa, ma di fatto (cosa che lei stessa sa benissimo) la sua è un'attesa disperata, un'attesa di qualcosa che non arriverà mai.
La disperazione, cupissima e totale, è la cifra principale di questo romanzo. Non c'è un singolo spiraglio di luce in tutto il libro, mai.
L'unico personaggio che porta un po' di colore e di vita è Millie, l'amica coetanea di Leila. Sedotta da Bradeth, rimane incinta ma lui rifiuta di sposarla, tuttavia fa coppia con lei a tutti gli effetti. Sono gli unici due personaggi un po' vitali, gli unici che danno l'impressione di essere umani. Gli altri sembrano automi, ma sono stati resi così dalla disperazione.
Leila vive con il figlio e la madre che, nonostante i suoi appena 40 anni, è malata e passa gran parte del tempo a letto. Una mattina Leila si sveglia e al posto della madre trova una lettera, in cui la donna le annuncia di essere partita per l'Inghilterra in cerca di cure migliori. Successivamente Leila decide di seguirla e Michael, cacciato di casa da Beverley dopo l'ennesima umiliazione che le ha fatto subire, decide di andare con lei.
L'Inghilterra è un po' la terra promessa, dove gli abitanti dell'isola sono convinti di poter trovare un posto migliore, un lavoro, la ricchezza, una vita lontana dalla monotonia e dalla prevedibilità. Invece, l'Inghilterra degli anni Cinquanta è un posto ostile: ha creato un impero ma non vuole saperne delle persone che ha colonizzato, le case espongono cartelli dove scrivono che non si affitta ai "coloureds", e se non li espongono è solo per ipocrisia, perché di fatto nessuno vuole affittare ai non bianchi. Perciò ci si deve arrangiare: gli uomini soli in case fatiscenti in cui si abita in tantissimi, le famiglie come Leila, Michael e Calvin in case ancor più fatiscenti che nemmeno un topo di fogna oserebbe chiamare "casa". Il lavoro, se c'è, è solo di infimo livello, l'ostilità è enorme. Per fortuna Leila ha una vicina di casa ansiosa di aiutarla e con cui nasce un'amicizia.
Tuttavia, questa amicizia non deve far sperare: come dicevo, non c'è nessuno spiraglio, mai. La disperazione regna sovrana e sembra non ci sia alcun modo di uscirne. Leila non aveva sogni neanche sull'isola, era già rassegnata, ma se pure avesse avuto qualche speranza, l'impatto con la realtà trovata in Inghilterra spazzerà via ogni sia pur minima speranza di miglioramento. Alla fine non resta che la sopravvivenza, ma non sempre. Nel caso di Leila, forse, resta solo la follia: sebbene la conclusione del romanzo rimanga vaga sulla questione, a me pare che non possa essere interpretata in altro modo.
*
Il libro purtroppo non è stato tradotto in italiano, nonostante la cupezza penso che meriti davvero di essere letto, è una descrizione perfetta di tematiche come la solitudine, la rassegnazione, la disillusione, i sogni infranti, il colonialismo, l'emigrazione...
Caryl Phillips viene considerato uno dei più importanti scrittori della sua generazione. Nato nel 1958 a Saint Kitts e Nevis, nei Caraibi, a soli quattro mesi si trasferisce con la famiglia in Inghilterra, dove nel corso degli anni diventerà un affermato scrittore, sceneggiatore e professore universitario. Uno dei temi a lui più cari è quello della diaspora africana.
*
Per l'uso del termine "coloured" (negli Stati Uniti e nel Regno Unito) potete leggere qui, mentre questo articolo della BBC vi spiega perché non è una buona idea usare questa parola. La questione del linguaggio relativo all'appartenenza razziale ed etnica è complessa, nei paesi di lingua inglese raggiunge gradi di complessità inenarrabili, e secondo me è difficile da comprendere se non si vive in quei posti. Già per me parlare di appartenenza "razziale" è abbastanza shockante, nel senso che dal mio modesto punto di vista la razza è una, ed è quella umana. Tuttavia non è così ovunque, per esempio qui c'è un'interessante pagina sulla situazione statunitense. La questione è strettamente connessa alla cultura del paese preso in considerazione: non si può pensare che il punto di vista sull'argomento sia lo stesso in un paese dal passato fascista che ha partorito le leggi razziali, come l'Italia, e in un paese in cui un'amplissima fetta della popolazione discende dagli schiavi e in cui la schiavitù e la segregazione razziale sono state abolite solo pochissimo tempo fa, come gli Stati Uniti. Altro ancora è il discorso per un paese dal passato coloniale, come il Regno Unito, e così via, in ogni paese la questione poggia su basi diverse e non è facile da comprendere per chi in quel paese non ha mai vissuto. Si potrebbero scrivere fiumi di parole sull'argomento, ma questa vuole essere solo una breve nota a margine.
La prima parte di questo libro si intitola "The End". Pensavo che la storia partisse dalla fine per poi proseguire a ritroso, ma avvicinandomi alla fine del libro ho capito che il senso era un altro.
La storia si svolge intorno alla fine degli anni Cinquanta, quando le Indie Occidentali fanno ancora parte dell'Impero britannico. Leila è con il figlioletto Calvin al porto, in fila per salire sulla nave che li porterà in Inghilterra. Sta aspettando suo marito Michael, che però tarda ad arrivare. Quando arriva salgono sulla nave che salperà poi alla volta della madrepatria. Da qui la narrazione procede fra vari balzi indietro, non è del tutto lineare ma questo non la rende difficile da seguire.
È la storia di Leila, che ho immaginato come una donna matura appena l'ho incontrata, solo per poi scoprire che ha appena 19 anni. Leila vive su un'isola delle Indie Occidentali insieme al figlio Calvin, che a giudicare da quello che viene raccontato dovrebbe avere pochi mesi, forse al massimo un anno (l'età precisa non viene mai menzionata). È sposata con Michael, ma non vivono insieme: già la sera delle nozze lui le ha sputato in faccia e se n'è andato. Michael è un perdigiorno, uno scansafatiche a cui piace solo bere e che preferibilmente non farebbe niente nella vita, a parte forse sedurre le donne, ma anche questo non è chiaro. Già da tempo ha una relazione con Beverley, dalla quale ha avuto un figlio: Beverley aveva aspettato per anni che il marito, emigrato negli Stati Uniti, le scrivesse di raggiungerlo, ma questo non è mai accaduto e così ha instaurato una sorta di relazione con Michael. Tuttavia questo non ha impedito a Michael di corteggiare e poi sposare Leila, con la quale non ha però mai, assolutamente mai avuto un vero rapporto di tipo affettivo. Leila è sempre lasciata da parte, dal giorno stesso delle nozze. Ma questo non significa che Michael ami Beverley. Michael non ama nessuno, se non se stesso, e anche questo è dubbio.
Il libro è fatto di immensi silenzi: Michael che va a casa di Beverley e mangia chino sul piatto senza parlare, Beverley che senza parlare gli porge il piatto con la cena, Leila che senza parlare accetta tutto quello che Michael fa. Sembrano tutti dei personaggi senza vita, in particolare Leila pare priva di emozioni, anche se è chiaro che non è così. Come dirà verso la fine del libro, Leila vive nella rassegnazione e nell'attesa. La rassegnazione è una delle protagoniste principali del romanzo, infatti. Capisco poi che Leila abbia l'impressione di essere in costante attesa, ma di fatto (cosa che lei stessa sa benissimo) la sua è un'attesa disperata, un'attesa di qualcosa che non arriverà mai.
La disperazione, cupissima e totale, è la cifra principale di questo romanzo. Non c'è un singolo spiraglio di luce in tutto il libro, mai.
L'unico personaggio che porta un po' di colore e di vita è Millie, l'amica coetanea di Leila. Sedotta da Bradeth, rimane incinta ma lui rifiuta di sposarla, tuttavia fa coppia con lei a tutti gli effetti. Sono gli unici due personaggi un po' vitali, gli unici che danno l'impressione di essere umani. Gli altri sembrano automi, ma sono stati resi così dalla disperazione.
Leila vive con il figlio e la madre che, nonostante i suoi appena 40 anni, è malata e passa gran parte del tempo a letto. Una mattina Leila si sveglia e al posto della madre trova una lettera, in cui la donna le annuncia di essere partita per l'Inghilterra in cerca di cure migliori. Successivamente Leila decide di seguirla e Michael, cacciato di casa da Beverley dopo l'ennesima umiliazione che le ha fatto subire, decide di andare con lei.
L'Inghilterra è un po' la terra promessa, dove gli abitanti dell'isola sono convinti di poter trovare un posto migliore, un lavoro, la ricchezza, una vita lontana dalla monotonia e dalla prevedibilità. Invece, l'Inghilterra degli anni Cinquanta è un posto ostile: ha creato un impero ma non vuole saperne delle persone che ha colonizzato, le case espongono cartelli dove scrivono che non si affitta ai "coloureds", e se non li espongono è solo per ipocrisia, perché di fatto nessuno vuole affittare ai non bianchi. Perciò ci si deve arrangiare: gli uomini soli in case fatiscenti in cui si abita in tantissimi, le famiglie come Leila, Michael e Calvin in case ancor più fatiscenti che nemmeno un topo di fogna oserebbe chiamare "casa". Il lavoro, se c'è, è solo di infimo livello, l'ostilità è enorme. Per fortuna Leila ha una vicina di casa ansiosa di aiutarla e con cui nasce un'amicizia.
Tuttavia, questa amicizia non deve far sperare: come dicevo, non c'è nessuno spiraglio, mai. La disperazione regna sovrana e sembra non ci sia alcun modo di uscirne. Leila non aveva sogni neanche sull'isola, era già rassegnata, ma se pure avesse avuto qualche speranza, l'impatto con la realtà trovata in Inghilterra spazzerà via ogni sia pur minima speranza di miglioramento. Alla fine non resta che la sopravvivenza, ma non sempre. Nel caso di Leila, forse, resta solo la follia: sebbene la conclusione del romanzo rimanga vaga sulla questione, a me pare che non possa essere interpretata in altro modo.
*
Il libro purtroppo non è stato tradotto in italiano, nonostante la cupezza penso che meriti davvero di essere letto, è una descrizione perfetta di tematiche come la solitudine, la rassegnazione, la disillusione, i sogni infranti, il colonialismo, l'emigrazione...
Caryl Phillips viene considerato uno dei più importanti scrittori della sua generazione. Nato nel 1958 a Saint Kitts e Nevis, nei Caraibi, a soli quattro mesi si trasferisce con la famiglia in Inghilterra, dove nel corso degli anni diventerà un affermato scrittore, sceneggiatore e professore universitario. Uno dei temi a lui più cari è quello della diaspora africana.
*
Per l'uso del termine "coloured" (negli Stati Uniti e nel Regno Unito) potete leggere qui, mentre questo articolo della BBC vi spiega perché non è una buona idea usare questa parola. La questione del linguaggio relativo all'appartenenza razziale ed etnica è complessa, nei paesi di lingua inglese raggiunge gradi di complessità inenarrabili, e secondo me è difficile da comprendere se non si vive in quei posti. Già per me parlare di appartenenza "razziale" è abbastanza shockante, nel senso che dal mio modesto punto di vista la razza è una, ed è quella umana. Tuttavia non è così ovunque, per esempio qui c'è un'interessante pagina sulla situazione statunitense. La questione è strettamente connessa alla cultura del paese preso in considerazione: non si può pensare che il punto di vista sull'argomento sia lo stesso in un paese dal passato fascista che ha partorito le leggi razziali, come l'Italia, e in un paese in cui un'amplissima fetta della popolazione discende dagli schiavi e in cui la schiavitù e la segregazione razziale sono state abolite solo pochissimo tempo fa, come gli Stati Uniti. Altro ancora è il discorso per un paese dal passato coloniale, come il Regno Unito, e così via, in ogni paese la questione poggia su basi diverse e non è facile da comprendere per chi in quel paese non ha mai vissuto. Si potrebbero scrivere fiumi di parole sull'argomento, ma questa vuole essere solo una breve nota a margine.
August 5, 2020
It's been an emotional week for me with work and childcare commitments, so maybe I was in the wrong frame of mind for reading this... but I must admit I struggled with INTENT here. I can usually wrap my head around what an author is hoping to achieve, or at least come up with an interpretation of what that might be, but The Final Passage left me flummoxed.
Was it a contemplation of immigration? Maybe, but the section set in England is rather brief.
The difficulties that Black women face? Leila faces more than her share of challenges, but she never felt like a fleshed out character for me, just a passive victim of circumstance, lacking any kind of agency or depth that you could at least understand what drives her. I really struggled to work out what her relationship with Michael was all about, it's implied that Leila's mother's illness drives her destructive behaviour, but I could not reconcile why on earth she would saddle herself with such a monster, there was no sense of what attracted her in the first place.
Parenthood? Calvin felt like a prop more than anything and Michael's philandering ways were always consequence free, he is genuinely one of the most irredeemable characters I've ever read outside of a more traditional villain role.
I just kept finding myself wondering what the point of this book was. Misery porn perhaps, because it was unrelentingly bleak, devoid of any hope, and I couldn't bring myself to truly care, even if the unsettling ending rocked me a bit. I'm really interested to see what the rest of book club thought, as early chatter seems to be that people are enjoying it, unlike with Norwegian Wood, where we were all united in our dislike. We'll see!
Was it a contemplation of immigration? Maybe, but the section set in England is rather brief.
The difficulties that Black women face? Leila faces more than her share of challenges, but she never felt like a fleshed out character for me, just a passive victim of circumstance, lacking any kind of agency or depth that you could at least understand what drives her. I really struggled to work out what her relationship with Michael was all about, it's implied that Leila's mother's illness drives her destructive behaviour, but I could not reconcile why on earth she would saddle herself with such a monster, there was no sense of what attracted her in the first place.
Parenthood? Calvin felt like a prop more than anything and Michael's philandering ways were always consequence free, he is genuinely one of the most irredeemable characters I've ever read outside of a more traditional villain role.
I just kept finding myself wondering what the point of this book was. Misery porn perhaps, because it was unrelentingly bleak, devoid of any hope, and I couldn't bring myself to truly care, even if the unsettling ending rocked me a bit. I'm really interested to see what the rest of book club thought, as early chatter seems to be that people are enjoying it, unlike with Norwegian Wood, where we were all united in our dislike. We'll see!
Read
May 7, 2020read for school (2020)
this was so sad without actually being tragic
this was so sad without actually being tragic
May 11, 2020
3.5/5
June 14, 2020
Tell each other, not the reader!
The Final Passage is a thoroughly engrossing story encapsulating the fragility of a dream and the decision to mature out of it, not just for one’s self but for the people one holds dear. There are so many heart wrenching scenes where characters could open their hearts and express emotion but instead their tightly guarded thoughts are only communicated to the reader, not each other so this is a record of the frustrations of life, and fear that has no place to dissipate so it builds up and takes over, cutting off everything else that could exist. I hated this story but loved the author’s depiction of it. I will look up his other books now.
The Final Passage is a thoroughly engrossing story encapsulating the fragility of a dream and the decision to mature out of it, not just for one’s self but for the people one holds dear. There are so many heart wrenching scenes where characters could open their hearts and express emotion but instead their tightly guarded thoughts are only communicated to the reader, not each other so this is a record of the frustrations of life, and fear that has no place to dissipate so it builds up and takes over, cutting off everything else that could exist. I hated this story but loved the author’s depiction of it. I will look up his other books now.
December 4, 2023
Accidentally steps on trash: *it’s Michael*
January 23, 2018
The year is 1958 in The Carribean and Leila and Michael decide to migrate to England - "The dreamland". They decide to migrate in order to solve their problems. Leila's problems are that her marriage to Michael is over before it even started and that maybe, just maybe England will change Michael for the better and he will be the husband that she dreams of.
Leila likes the confidence and arrogance that Michael has. Somehow his "bad boy" persona is so unlike her quiet nature and that attracts her to him. Even though her best friend Millie and her mother clearly disapprove of him.
Leila is a mullato girl and because her skin colour is lighter, she is considered on the island very beautiful and held in high regard. Michael, on the other hand, is selfish and he only searches for Leila when he has a sexual need. He feels inferior next to her, because he has no job, no skills and no prospects. Instead of getting a job, he drinks all day and then runs to the easy prospect of food, shelter and sex that Beverly provides. He has with her an illegitimate son, that he does not care about.
But when Beverly leaves Michael. He is shocked that the almost mute woman has put him in his place. As a man, he is not used to rejection and although very arrogant and abusive usually, when Beverly stand up to him, he is scared. In other words, he is a coward.
Then he goes back to Leila and it's not because he feels sorry or regrets, but it feels almost just because he feels bored.
Michael sexism shines in one particular scene for me. When Beverly, who is clearly taking care of him, gives him the bike that he wanted. Michael gets angry and even wants to beat her, not caring that his son is inside. He, as a man, cannot accept such pity and Beverly the most pitiful woman in his mind is getting the upper hand in a way.
Leila is delusional in her desire for Michael to change and in her want for him to be what he is not. She forgives him everything he does and she lets him abuse her verbally. Leila should have known the moment after he threw the flowers at her legs after he asked her to marry him, that Michael is not going to change and her perfect partner is never going to be him. She should have stayed with Arthur, who actually respected her.
Michael marries Leila very fast and easy, unlike his friend Bredeth. Bredeth, although he got Millie pregnant in the beginning, when Leila and Michael's wedding was taking place, he refused to get married to Millie. Yet, even at that time he took responsibility and decided that he will pay child support and met Millie's austere aunt (Unlike Michael, who can't even look at Leila's mother). But after a while, he took responsibility and decided to marry Millie. He works in the shop her aunt left behind after she died and he was the one to feel pity and distress when Leila was birthing Clavin. He got angry at Michael's indifference.
We see two people at first similar - Michael and Breadth. But the similarities end next to their friendship. Michael is selfish, irresponsible, lazy. Bredeth, although executive alcohol consumer is responsible, sensible.
Michael, on the other hand, decides that if he goes to England everything that he "deserves" will fall into his hands. He does not care about his marriage or his child. That is clearly seen as he doesn't even visit Leila when Calvin is born and he rarely even mention his son. He does not mention his illegitimate son either.
Michael is very irresponsible and arrogant. He goes to England with the idea that everything will fall into his hands when he steps onto the land. His delusions are helped through the gossip of other islanders and immigrants that came back from England. The rumors, that Michael has heard are that black man can have as many white women as they want and with little effort, he can gain unimaginable riches, which are the deciding factors for his migration.
What Michael finds is completely different, but his delusions are rooted so deep, that he searches for like-minded people and although Edwin is not delusional, he is a bad influence on Michael.
Here, we saw clear representation on the sexism of the 50s and the migration to the "mythical" centre.
I think that Michael's and Leila's relationship comes to a full circle in England. Their first meeting was their spring, the start of their sexual relationship and their time together until the marriage proposal their summer, the wedding - autumn and their separation in England - writer.
For me, the characters, in the books I read are the most important thing. Here the characters made me question why they did this or that. They could not communicate. They were extremely irresponsible. I dislike irresponsible people.
Everyone has a responsibility that they have to carry and respect. The respect among these people was very low.
This is a strange and bleak reality-like book.
I refuse to believe that this is the reality, though. Maybe, just maybe this was the reality in the 1950s. I like to believe that we (people) have changed from that time until now.
But then again, this bleakness is because of the characters. Which were delusional at best.
The book is studied in postcolonial studies. Sure, there is a racism and the unfairness. But I felt that was not the point of the book. The point I see is a false hope that people gathered for a country they actually knew nothing about.
So much more can be analyzed and written, but I am stopping here.
Leila likes the confidence and arrogance that Michael has. Somehow his "bad boy" persona is so unlike her quiet nature and that attracts her to him. Even though her best friend Millie and her mother clearly disapprove of him.
Leila is a mullato girl and because her skin colour is lighter, she is considered on the island very beautiful and held in high regard. Michael, on the other hand, is selfish and he only searches for Leila when he has a sexual need. He feels inferior next to her, because he has no job, no skills and no prospects. Instead of getting a job, he drinks all day and then runs to the easy prospect of food, shelter and sex that Beverly provides. He has with her an illegitimate son, that he does not care about.
But when Beverly leaves Michael. He is shocked that the almost mute woman has put him in his place. As a man, he is not used to rejection and although very arrogant and abusive usually, when Beverly stand up to him, he is scared. In other words, he is a coward.
Then he goes back to Leila and it's not because he feels sorry or regrets, but it feels almost just because he feels bored.
Michael sexism shines in one particular scene for me. When Beverly, who is clearly taking care of him, gives him the bike that he wanted. Michael gets angry and even wants to beat her, not caring that his son is inside. He, as a man, cannot accept such pity and Beverly the most pitiful woman in his mind is getting the upper hand in a way.
Leila is delusional in her desire for Michael to change and in her want for him to be what he is not. She forgives him everything he does and she lets him abuse her verbally. Leila should have known the moment after he threw the flowers at her legs after he asked her to marry him, that Michael is not going to change and her perfect partner is never going to be him. She should have stayed with Arthur, who actually respected her.
Michael marries Leila very fast and easy, unlike his friend Bredeth. Bredeth, although he got Millie pregnant in the beginning, when Leila and Michael's wedding was taking place, he refused to get married to Millie. Yet, even at that time he took responsibility and decided that he will pay child support and met Millie's austere aunt (Unlike Michael, who can't even look at Leila's mother). But after a while, he took responsibility and decided to marry Millie. He works in the shop her aunt left behind after she died and he was the one to feel pity and distress when Leila was birthing Clavin. He got angry at Michael's indifference.
We see two people at first similar - Michael and Breadth. But the similarities end next to their friendship. Michael is selfish, irresponsible, lazy. Bredeth, although executive alcohol consumer is responsible, sensible.
Michael, on the other hand, decides that if he goes to England everything that he "deserves" will fall into his hands. He does not care about his marriage or his child. That is clearly seen as he doesn't even visit Leila when Calvin is born and he rarely even mention his son. He does not mention his illegitimate son either.
Michael is very irresponsible and arrogant. He goes to England with the idea that everything will fall into his hands when he steps onto the land. His delusions are helped through the gossip of other islanders and immigrants that came back from England. The rumors, that Michael has heard are that black man can have as many white women as they want and with little effort, he can gain unimaginable riches, which are the deciding factors for his migration.
What Michael finds is completely different, but his delusions are rooted so deep, that he searches for like-minded people and although Edwin is not delusional, he is a bad influence on Michael.
Here, we saw clear representation on the sexism of the 50s and the migration to the "mythical" centre.
I think that Michael's and Leila's relationship comes to a full circle in England. Their first meeting was their spring, the start of their sexual relationship and their time together until the marriage proposal their summer, the wedding - autumn and their separation in England - writer.
For me, the characters, in the books I read are the most important thing. Here the characters made me question why they did this or that. They could not communicate. They were extremely irresponsible. I dislike irresponsible people.
Everyone has a responsibility that they have to carry and respect. The respect among these people was very low.
This is a strange and bleak reality-like book.
I refuse to believe that this is the reality, though. Maybe, just maybe this was the reality in the 1950s. I like to believe that we (people) have changed from that time until now.
But then again, this bleakness is because of the characters. Which were delusional at best.
The book is studied in postcolonial studies. Sure, there is a racism and the unfairness. But I felt that was not the point of the book. The point I see is a false hope that people gathered for a country they actually knew nothing about.
So much more can be analyzed and written, but I am stopping here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2020
i am angry and confused, and i am so glad i finished it. for most of it i didn't enjoy it. i feel like the only one who deserves rights is calvin.
December 12, 2023
I do not really understand what the point of this book was. I do know one thing though, there is a 15 occasions when someone sucks their teeth in the book. I was about to act out.
The book does not even have the decency to be outright bad, it just kind of is, which might be even worse.
The book does not even have the decency to be outright bad, it just kind of is, which might be even worse.
May 11, 2023
2.5*
read for uni, liked the story and main idea but the execution was poor and i was constantly bored. it was also sad af
read for uni, liked the story and main idea but the execution was poor and i was constantly bored. it was also sad af
May 5, 2014
I would like to make it clear that I thought this book was well written. I enjoyed the imagery as well as Phillips' narrative style. I also enjoyed Bradeth and Millie and was sad that I did not get to spend more time with them. I gave this book two stars only because it left me feeling depressed. While I sympathized with Leila's situation (distant mother, absent husband, foreign land) I could not help but wish she would have tried a little more to stand up for herself. Granted, this is set in the late 50s and I have no frame of reference as to what it was like to be a West Indies woman living in London. I think I will try to give this book another go at a later date and see if I can find something new between the pages.
September 22, 2021
"What I mean is, that for there to be a land of plenty there has to be a land of nothing, right?"
a honest look into the hopes and disillusionments of the windrush generation.
as people pointed out before, this book comes with a bleak, almost impartial and sterile look into the suffering the characters experience, and that is why the characters' pain and desperation has a lingering effect without being over the top.
the narrative style is interesting and it isn't always easy to understand you're reading about a point in the past but it is easy to get used.
a honest look into the hopes and disillusionments of the windrush generation.
as people pointed out before, this book comes with a bleak, almost impartial and sterile look into the suffering the characters experience, and that is why the characters' pain and desperation has a lingering effect without being over the top.
the narrative style is interesting and it isn't always easy to understand you're reading about a point in the past but it is easy to get used.
April 28, 2008
Very well-written, but just so bleak. I kept wanting to shake several of the characters, they are just so human, so completely flawed.
August 10, 2021
Reminded me of Small Island with two very important distinctions: one, the story of Leila's (and Millie's) life in St Kitts pre-journey and two, that Leila's time in England is very much on her own, or actually with Michael causing adversity for her (very different type of 'couple'). On the latter, I see there are a couple of comments describing this book as 'depressing' and one saying they hate Michael - the latter definitely seems fair. In any case, to focus on Leila, her own lonely struggle is one evoking a lot of sympathy (and I can see why people would use the word 'depressing'). Perhaps the one saving grace amongst an otherwise overwhelmingly lonely experienceof a book is through a sweet credit to her friends right at the end: "At least the small island she had left behind had safety and two friends, and if the price to be paid for this was a stern predictability from one day to the next then she was ready to pay it."
I did find the flashbacks a little jumpy - thought these could have been done smoother and I also was expecting a little bit more of a story from Calvin, at points he felt like a bit of a pawn in the story of Leila's and Michael's marriage story without having much else of a place. But overall doesn't take away from the fact it's an important story and though difficult to stomach, by no means irrelevant (see: all immigration ever).
I did find the flashbacks a little jumpy - thought these could have been done smoother and I also was expecting a little bit more of a story from Calvin, at points he felt like a bit of a pawn in the story of Leila's and Michael's marriage story without having much else of a place. But overall doesn't take away from the fact it's an important story and though difficult to stomach, by no means irrelevant (see: all immigration ever).
November 22, 2024
This little book packs a punch, but I don't really know what the message is. I loved the description of St Kitts and it's surroundings. I could see these towns and the colonial buildings, even the beaches with the English on them. I could appreciate the sense of hopelessness those on those islands felt, and the desire to go to the "promised land" of Britain. Particularly as we know it's the trek so many thousands of people actually did in the 50s.
I don't understand the Michael at all. I don't understand Leila regarding Michael in any way shape or form. I don't really understand the point of the novel.
I get it is a telling of his mum's story, which I only gleaned from the internet. I loved the descriptions at times. But... I just don't understand the points or motivation of the character and the story.
I don't understand the Michael at all. I don't understand Leila regarding Michael in any way shape or form. I don't really understand the point of the novel.
I get it is a telling of his mum's story, which I only gleaned from the internet. I loved the descriptions at times. But... I just don't understand the points or motivation of the character and the story.
May 30, 2017
[#33 Saint Kitts and Nevis (West Indies)] This is the story of Leila, a young woman emigrating from a little Caribbean island to England with her child and her poor excuse for a husband. The first part of the book is about the life on the island and the reasons she decided to leave her home. In the second part she's trying to adapt to her life in London.
The story is beautifully written, and getting Leila's point of view was very interesting. It is also depressing, as she learns that poverty may even be harder in a country so different from hers. In the end, it all comes down to the destructive impact of colonization.
The story is beautifully written, and getting Leila's point of view was very interesting. It is also depressing, as she learns that poverty may even be harder in a country so different from hers. In the end, it all comes down to the destructive impact of colonization.
November 13, 2023
An interesting novel with a very good topic. I liked the problems posed by the immigration which this novels explores and despite what appeared as a very simple relocation from one of the British overseas territory to England. But despite not requiring visas, the acclimatization for West Indians in UK are as hard as any other population.
I believe the characters are somewhat less developed as I would have liked and that at times I struggled to understand the relationship between them. I was on the verge of abandoning it half way through as I did not managed to follow the connections between them.
I believe the characters are somewhat less developed as I would have liked and that at times I struggled to understand the relationship between them. I was on the verge of abandoning it half way through as I did not managed to follow the connections between them.
November 28, 2025
The thing about this novel is that it's a story that has been told over and over again - 1950s, island in the Caribbean, FMC/MMC comes to England, life is not great. The only different here is the ending.
The writing is excellent, but the novel is unmemorable. I was not a fan of the non-linear narration. At times, I took me a few pages to realize I was reading a flashback. None of the main characters made you root for them. I think the ending was meant to be somewhat empowering but it took me a few minutes to realize what was happening.
It was neither a particularly good nor bad novel.
The writing is excellent, but the novel is unmemorable. I was not a fan of the non-linear narration. At times, I took me a few pages to realize I was reading a flashback. None of the main characters made you root for them. I think the ending was meant to be somewhat empowering but it took me a few minutes to realize what was happening.
It was neither a particularly good nor bad novel.
October 3, 2020
There were some pretty, evocative descriptions, but overall the book was a tough read. Every scene was in a different time I'm so most of my thoughtfulness in the book was put just into figuring out when each scene was taking place. And overall, the characters weren't likeable and the story was very unhappy, so it wasn't an enjoyable read. Obviously, not every story has to be happy, but there was nothing enjoyable to cling onto in this story. A worthwhile read, but I would never want to read it again.
January 2, 2020
Five stars for the first two-thirds of the book, and the intentions of the third passage. Phillips excels in the exercise of empathy, the humanitarian controbution of every great novelist. It is impossible not to feel for the characters he creates, to believe in their capacity, cheer the way they overcome their circumstances and curse the way their lives are circumscribed by fate, race, religion and the depravity of humanity. Even the abusers and oppressors are multi-dimensional
January 31, 2022
A restless protagonist seeks a better life for her son, unwilling husband and herself leaves the Caribbean island of St. Kitts in the 1950’s and makes her way to England only to have a rude awakening of what she has come to face: pour housing conditions, in your face racism all around makes her question the decision she has made.
The novel is written in a weird and unique writing style and it took me a while to find my rhythm. The novel begins where it ends. I enjoyed the prose , the immigrant experience as part of a diaspora. Of course I am a sucker for immigrant stories but I thought there was so much development of place and characters that could have made this a hefty read.
The novel is written in a weird and unique writing style and it took me a while to find my rhythm. The novel begins where it ends. I enjoyed the prose , the immigrant experience as part of a diaspora. Of course I am a sucker for immigrant stories but I thought there was so much development of place and characters that could have made this a hefty read.
May 31, 2023
Yet another book I'm ambivalent about. On the one hand, I found it very moving and very interesting in terms of an important point in recent history. On the other hand, dealing with one character (Michael) who seemed to have no redeeming features, and another Leila, who was so passive and trampled on, diminished my liking of the book.
August 14, 2022
It is a beautifully written book, but my oh my, it is not a book to read when you are feeling depressed. This is why it took me so long to finish it, as it is a very brief read, but often I just didn't feel that I could stand any more misery in the day.
January 25, 2021
Beautiful book - the language, the characters, the plot. Ticks so many boxes and so glad it was on my reading syllabus in Spain.
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