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Written in a biographical fiction style, this poignant yet triumphant hybrid memoir/biography documents the author's heritage as a descendant of East Indian indentured servants bound to work on British sugar plantations. This system lasted from 1838 until 1917. Some of Moteelall's family members were among the estimated 240,000 souls who emigrated to British Guiana (now Guyana), a "story of servitude contract that resulted in life sentences for many ... an atrocious system that reinvented and redefined slavery."
While some people signed indentured contracts of their own free will, seeking a better life, others were kidnapped or tricked into boarding ships bound for the tropics. Whether married or single, women were often subject to sexual abuse by sailors and overseers on the months-long sea voyages and in the cane fields. Those who refused to succumb to these demands suffered constant verbal abuse and hard field labor for less pay. Some laborers died in misery from disease and exhaustion, often leaving orphaned children behind. In contrast, others had the good fortune to buy their freedom early and rebuilt their lives as farmers and merchants in the Hindu communities of colonial Guiana.
Moteelall's effort to document his family history was a forty-year journey undertaken with much patience and empathy. His appreciation of sensory detail and dramatic story flow makes his ancestors' joys and sorrows vivid and brings his contemporary family life into sharp focus. The beauty of the human heart and an appreciation for small daily miracles shine through the carefully crafted prose, hindered only slightly by a lack of dialogue and an emphasis on direct narrative. This memoir will enlighten and entertain readers who appreciate a deeply human story set amidst a sweeping historical background.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review