The Saltpickers & Other Caribbean Stories

by Zoila Ellis

Zoila Ellis’s stories restore human community, nature, and ancient beliefs to their rightful places in our misguided world. Her literary landscape spans the Caribbean, England, Central America and the USA. Her stories remind me of the fiction of García Márquez and Earl Lovelace, yet she is a writer of her own time, places and concerns. Women, children, the elderly and, yes, even decent men-and scoundrels, too-are revealed with a keen, just and at times merciless, à la Flannery O’Connor eye. Ellis’s narrative sense is quick, intriguing, and rooted in the natural origins of story telling. These are stories of the recent past, the present and, therefore-undoubtedly-address the future and recall William Faulkner’s “The past is not dead; it’s not even past.”

Genres: Short Stories

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2020

Reviews

[Kesha Peyrefitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Zoila Ellis since the first time I read her first anthology. Now, I have the pleasure of reading and recommending “Saltpickers…” which is her much-anticipated sophomoric collection of short prose. What comes to mind as I have leafed through the last few pages of her book? Masterful. Zoila Ellis is a masterful artist of the short story. How she achieves such satisfying feats of irony is impressive. The endings of some stories in this collection are so, so satisfying to devour! Read them and you will agree too!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

you must read these stories. This is truly a powerful offering by Zoila Ellis.