Set in Jamaica’s coastal communities, “The Village Curtain: A Jamaica Collection” by Tony Tame, is a collection of fictional stories, sketches and imaginary characters. In terms of a story line, it is an informational journey through the lives of Jamaica’s fishermen and the women who care for them. It shows how the ocean is sometimes misused (dynamiting and bleaching), how the spear fishermen going about their lives, the ins and outs of the net fishermen and the many twists and turns and spicy tidbits in the day-to-day lives of the book’s characters.
According to Tame, “All the stories, while fictional, have authentic origins and genuinely reflect the challenges and foibles involved in living in the West Indies.” In actuality, this book examines Jamaican society’s use of culturally unique survival techniques and the private atmosphere which tends to be produced within small Caribbean fishing communities. There’s a sharp contrast between appearance and reality in what seems so picturesque and idyllic a place as Jamaica, and this book brings it out very well.
“The Village Curtain: A Jamaica Collection” is available online @Amazon.
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