Cambridge

One of England's most widely acclaimed young novelists adopts two eerily convincing narrative voices and juxtaposes their stories to devastating effect in this mesmerizing portrait of slavery. Cambridge is a devoutly Christian slave in the West Indies whose sense of justice is both profound and self-destructive, while Emily is a morally-blind, genteel Englishwoman.

Customer Reviews:

good, but then it fails

By C. Brown - October 4, 2004

The narrative of Emily Cartwright is marvelous. I found myself easily believing I was reading an account written by a young woman in the 18th century, with matter of fact observations on race and men consistent with that time. The language is a delight to read, but as I was pleasantly carried along I began to wonder where the story was going. When a character using the occult entered the story, I had hope of the plot thickening but, alas, it didn't. Part II, which seemed very contrived and rushed, was disappointing.

Well worked, thought provoking and historic

By "laojpwamw" - May 7, 2001

I enjoyed Cambridge. The story is told from multiple perspectives which would explain the open ending. Who's version is the truth? How are their interpretations of events determined by their different cultural backgrounds? How do these multiple versions of a history comment upon the historical representation of actual Caribbean and African colonization? The characters are complex and contradictory - likeable and detestable all at once. One gets a glimpse into colonial life, attitudes and beliefs - not just one sided but as they probably were, complex, multiple, and contradictory. Caryl Phillips has done his research, the prose is authentic for the time, his work is based upon historical evidence (there is a recent dissertation that describes his historical influences). A good and well worth read.

Whats up with this?

By Kamz Hill - April 10, 2012

This book is great but what's up with the spelling? All the "th" words start with "m" so that looks like mat and then looks like men. Seriously amazon, what's up with that?