The Schoolmaster

I read this book about 8 years ago, as part of my literature curriculum. At that age, the reading, was at most, a trivial one, where the plot was more important than the backdrop of themes and metaphors. Today, Earl Lovelace's book serves as an important reminder of the corruptibility of society, and the moral decadence that usually comes with power. Set in Trinidad and Tobago, it is not as culturally emblematic as Selvon's "A Brighter Sun." Nonetheless it is situationally relevant and non-anachronistic for the purpose of conveying the tragedy of a crushed dream - one, the victim of hope.

THE SCHOOLMASTER is just a story. It is a moment in time for a peasant village in Trinidad and it is as beautiful as it is raw. "....and the donkey that had made the most runs between Kumaca and Valencia began to bray and broke into a trot and surprised the acolyte on its back who was completing his first trip." A moment in time where stories are starting and others are playing out. We are party to only one and it is enough. TEN STARS!