Autobiography of My Mother

Autobiography of My Mother is a powerful, mesmerizing, and other-worldy tale of Xuela, a woman of Dominica, West Indies, who is a worthy subject for Kincaid's musical cadences and rapturous prose. Boy, can this woman write - and she infuses all her prose with the lilting voices of her compatriots. There's no way to read her work aloud without finding yourself lapsing into the patois, sing-songy style of speech that comes thru so clearly in her writing. This book is a painful tale, the recounting of a difficult life without much love shown to the girl as she grows from motherless infant to strong and bitter young woman who aborts her pregnancy and remains defiant the rest of her life. Raised motherless herself, she determines never to mother others. Taken on a metaphorical level, the woman's story could be the story of Dominica, torn by suffering, racism, power, and the unbreakable bonds that bind them together.Powerful writing on so, so many levels.

If you understand the culture of the Caribbean, then you will certainly understand, and enjoy this book. As I read it, I remembered all the intresting characters from my childhood that resembled the characters in The Autobiography of My Mother. Jamica Kincaid's style is so richly descriptive, it takes you "home" again. Xuela is a very strong female character, and although fate has made many of her choices for her, she ultimately takes control of her own destiny. A very good read, as are all her other works.

This book carries an empowering message that every woman can benefit from about embracing one's femaleness and sexuality. It is sad that some readers are frightened and offended (these two emotions go hand-in-hand) by the exploration of the body's potential for pleasure and power; this fear is exactly what Kincaid would like her readers to move away from. Women are taught from early childhood onward that their bodies and sexuality are shameful, but the protagonist in The Autobiography of My Mother teaches us that the body should be celebrated, rather than shunned. This world would be a healthier place if all of us adopted such an attitude.

I think more readers should read this in context of Jamaica Kincaid's own personal life, especially regarding her torn relationship with her mother. It would then become extremely touching, as Kincaid really writes this to save her own living. While other reviewers have found this book to be harsh or dirty in some sense, we should gain the sense that this narrator is really at a loss for love, that there is so little to love, but was able to find love in herself.

I have to speak up, because I feel that this book is being unfairly trashed. I stumbled across one of the chapters of this book in a collection, and I was so taken aback that I had to rush out and get the complete novel. I think that that Jamaica Kincaid's writing is so beautiful and poetic that she could be writing about anything and I would read it. But she also tells a very interesting and important story. Xuela is a mixed-race, motherless girl who does not receive love from anyone, and must survive by loving and celebrating her self. Perhaps for those people who have always felt secure in their place in life, and surrounded by love on all sides, Kincaid's book is too harsh and hard to relate to. But for those of us who have had times we when we felt so alone that we literally had to become our own mother and/or our own best friend, Kincaid's novel is a testimony to our experience. A great book.