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Time and the River
Time and the River is about freedom and slavery, hope and betrayal. It tells the story of people who don't own their own land or time, or even their own bodies. Leah Lawson is the daughter of a slave owner and a slave woman in Belize (the former British Honduras). In dreaming of a better future Leah must make some difficult choices. Her life takes drastic turns, changing her from slave into mistress, and forcing her to take the lives of her family and best friend into her own hands.
206 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 20, 2008
This is the fourth novel from Belize's leading author, Zee Edgell (Beka Lamb, In Times Like These, The Festival of San Joaquin). It centers on Leah, a young slave in the Belize settlement. She eventually marries a slave owner and when he dies she inherits his property, which includes her own family members. Leah lives through poverty, prejudice, slave revolts, and significant moments in the history of the nation that is now Belize. The historical details are painstakingly researched, the plot keeps you hooked, and the characters are compelling and well-drawn.
Full disclosure: Zee Edgell is my mother!
Full disclosure: Zee Edgell is my mother!
February 23, 2022
Around the World Reading Challenge: BELIZE
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Interesting book set in 1800s Belize and focusing on a Leah, a young slave girl who eventually goes on to marry a slave owner to provide for her family. It's a fairly short read overall and covers over two decades, and I do think it's a little ambitious in its scope. The story was certainly interesting and painted a clear picture of what life was like in the Belize settlement during that time period, but I felt the story was lacking a bit of depth. There's so much being covered in such a short period of time that I never felt super connected to the characters, and some of Leah's actions seemed confusing and unclear because we missed out on the background context to provide some insight into her actions.
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Interesting book set in 1800s Belize and focusing on a Leah, a young slave girl who eventually goes on to marry a slave owner to provide for her family. It's a fairly short read overall and covers over two decades, and I do think it's a little ambitious in its scope. The story was certainly interesting and painted a clear picture of what life was like in the Belize settlement during that time period, but I felt the story was lacking a bit of depth. There's so much being covered in such a short period of time that I never felt super connected to the characters, and some of Leah's actions seemed confusing and unclear because we missed out on the background context to provide some insight into her actions.
May 1, 2021
Tells the unique history of slavery in Belize. Definitely worth a read to understand the unique culture of Belize--the only English-speaking former colony in Central America.
June 4, 2023
Zee Edgell was Belize's leading literary voice (might even be the only one given the general paucity of books in the country - more on this below). In Time and the River , Edgell explores the unique history of Belize in the early 1800's, through the angle of slavery.
On my first day in Belize, I asked around for recommendations on books by local authors. To my great surprise, I was told by several folks that "Nobody reads literature here", and my question was generally greeted with amusement. Corroborating this, google informed me that the whole country has, maybe 2 book stores, and they seemed to be filled with books from authors elsewhere that I can find anywhere. On my 2nd day, I succeeded in getting a response to the question, "Is there a book about Belize that everyone here reads, may be in high school?". This is how I discovered Zee Edgell's Beka Lamb . But I couldn't find Beka Lamb in the stationery stores in the area I was in (another curious thing - stationery stores double up to sell the few books Belizeans seem to read) but they did carry Edgell's Time and the River . This is how I came about to gleefully dig my teeth into this book during my time in the country!
Slavery in Belize looked very different from slavery in the US - the slaves were allowed to buy their own freedom ("manumission"), they had days off, they could even make money on the side and pursue hobbies. (Of course, this doesn't mean life was good for them - they were slaves after all, and some of them suffered badly at the hands of their owners.) Belize's history is also quite unique - how this came to be the only English-speaking country in Central America is a story in itself, and one that involves slaves and English settlers fighting the Spanish. The geography of Belize also played a great part in shaping this history - the unforgiving rainforests and coastal swamps, the gigantic mahogany trees that attracted the loggers, the Belize river that cuts through the country, the coral reefs off the coast that protected the country from attacks by the sea..
As far as historical fiction books go, this one does a great job of capsuling early 19th century Belize and all aspects of how life was back then. You also clearly see why the relationship between slaves and settlers was what it was, and how it got shaped by the country's geography. The story is narrated from the POV of 3 slaves (but one of them - Leah - is the central character, and 80% of the story is in her voice). I especially enjoyed reading the secondary character Will's voice - his Spoiler unfulfilled life left a haunting impression. All he always wanted was to live in a small house by the river, surrounded by fruit trees and small plants. But all he had was a life of relentless work for his masters, a fading image of his long-lost mother, unrequited love, and a so-called friend who heartlessly deprived him of the smallest pleasure she could actually grant him. . It was also great just imagining what the land was like back then - how the places over run with concrete and roads now were raw, unexplored jungle all those years ago... I felt transported back into that era. The book is so beautifully titled as well - the Belize river has a hidden presence in the book, and the life of the slaves unfolds along its banks.
The writing is quite clunky and is especially so in the beginning - I found the reading unenjoyable for the first third of the book. I thought it got better/smoother as the book progressed, and I found myself going back for more. So if you're put off by the writing style early on in the book, I'd suggest some patience.
Reading tips : There is a helpful glossary at the end - so if you encounter terms you don't understand over the course of reading (nouns describing the flora and fauna of the region, names of food items etc.), flip to the glossary. Also, I think I would have found the story difficult to really absorb without some background on the history and geography of Belize (which I garnered through other reading & traveling) - suggest referring to other sources for some background reading on the history of Belize to understand what's going on between the English & the Spanish, why mahogany is mentioned so often etc.
On my first day in Belize, I asked around for recommendations on books by local authors. To my great surprise, I was told by several folks that "Nobody reads literature here", and my question was generally greeted with amusement. Corroborating this, google informed me that the whole country has, maybe 2 book stores, and they seemed to be filled with books from authors elsewhere that I can find anywhere. On my 2nd day, I succeeded in getting a response to the question, "Is there a book about Belize that everyone here reads, may be in high school?". This is how I discovered Zee Edgell's Beka Lamb . But I couldn't find Beka Lamb in the stationery stores in the area I was in (another curious thing - stationery stores double up to sell the few books Belizeans seem to read) but they did carry Edgell's Time and the River . This is how I came about to gleefully dig my teeth into this book during my time in the country!
Slavery in Belize looked very different from slavery in the US - the slaves were allowed to buy their own freedom ("manumission"), they had days off, they could even make money on the side and pursue hobbies. (Of course, this doesn't mean life was good for them - they were slaves after all, and some of them suffered badly at the hands of their owners.) Belize's history is also quite unique - how this came to be the only English-speaking country in Central America is a story in itself, and one that involves slaves and English settlers fighting the Spanish. The geography of Belize also played a great part in shaping this history - the unforgiving rainforests and coastal swamps, the gigantic mahogany trees that attracted the loggers, the Belize river that cuts through the country, the coral reefs off the coast that protected the country from attacks by the sea..
As far as historical fiction books go, this one does a great job of capsuling early 19th century Belize and all aspects of how life was back then. You also clearly see why the relationship between slaves and settlers was what it was, and how it got shaped by the country's geography. The story is narrated from the POV of 3 slaves (but one of them - Leah - is the central character, and 80% of the story is in her voice). I especially enjoyed reading the secondary character Will's voice - his Spoiler unfulfilled life left a haunting impression. All he always wanted was to live in a small house by the river, surrounded by fruit trees and small plants. But all he had was a life of relentless work for his masters, a fading image of his long-lost mother, unrequited love, and a so-called friend who heartlessly deprived him of the smallest pleasure she could actually grant him. . It was also great just imagining what the land was like back then - how the places over run with concrete and roads now were raw, unexplored jungle all those years ago... I felt transported back into that era. The book is so beautifully titled as well - the Belize river has a hidden presence in the book, and the life of the slaves unfolds along its banks.
The writing is quite clunky and is especially so in the beginning - I found the reading unenjoyable for the first third of the book. I thought it got better/smoother as the book progressed, and I found myself going back for more. So if you're put off by the writing style early on in the book, I'd suggest some patience.
Reading tips : There is a helpful glossary at the end - so if you encounter terms you don't understand over the course of reading (nouns describing the flora and fauna of the region, names of food items etc.), flip to the glossary. Also, I think I would have found the story difficult to really absorb without some background on the history and geography of Belize (which I garnered through other reading & traveling) - suggest referring to other sources for some background reading on the history of Belize to understand what's going on between the English & the Spanish, why mahogany is mentioned so often etc.
June 9, 2023
I appreciated that this book was not only about a woman living in Belize (as an enslaved woman and then free) but also written by a native of Belize. It was a bit slow for me, but I found the cultural aspect of it interesting.
March 8, 2019
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April 17, 2021
I can't read the book very poor
May 10, 2021
2.5* Belize
January 24, 2014
Loved this book, it's very poetic and heart warming! Poor Will!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews