10 novels to add to your reading list during Caribbean Heritage Month

By Christine Michel
BROOKLYN — Caribbean Heritage Month compels us to pause and recognize the contributions of Haiti’s neighboring peoples and cultures, from foods, music, and arts to everyday experiences. The similarities that bind us and the differences that set us apart. In our home countries and in our adopted lands.

For those curious about Caribbean identity beyond our own country of origin, start or continue your journey across the region with these fiction titles that have captivated readers worldwide.

“A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl” by Nanda Reddy

After receiving a letter addressed to what appears to be a stranger, a mother from suburban Atlanta is forced to confront her past in Guyana and the trauma that shaped her life in America. In “A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl,” Reddy delivers a thought-provoking exploration of human trafficking that critics have praised for its nuance and emotional complexity. 

“Another Man in the Street” by Caryl Philips 

“Another Man in the Street” follows a young man from Saint Kitts who journeys to London in pursuit of prosperity. Instead of success, he finds himself hindered by alienation and animosity, eventually abandoning the dreams that brought him from his homeland. Philip subverses the typical immigrant story by not telling one of triumph but of survival, a painful reality for many. 

“Grenada Ghost” by Lloyd Hollis Crooks  

“Grenada Ghost” centers on a murder mystery that takes place in Brooklyn during a Labor Day carnival in the 1990s. Told through the eyes of several characters, Crooks explores the repercussions of the 1983 U.S. military intervention in Grenada and the divides it formed within the Caribbean diaspora. 

“If I Survive You” by Jonathan Escofferey 

“If I Survive You” follows a family from Jamaica fighting to reach the American Dream while navigating racism, natural disasters and grudges during the 2008 recession. Critics praise Escofferey’s debut calling it a brilliant depiction of the importance of family, resistance, and the bonds that keep us strong enough to endure adversity. 

“Island Man” by Joanne Skerrett

“Island Man” follows an estranged father and son’s return to Dominica to scatter his mother’s ashes. Set against the backdrop of Hurricane Maria, Skerrett employs startling revelations to unpack generational trauma and the power of reconciliation.

“Land of Love and Drowning” by Tiphanie Yanique 

Taking inspiration from Caribbean folklore, “Land of Love and Drowning” narrates the lives of two sisters and their half-brother amid the transition from Danish to American rule in the U.S. Virgin Islands in the early 1900s. Told over sixty years, Yanique traces their family history and how their choices inadvertently shaped the lives of those in the future. 

“Of Women and Salt” by Gabriela Garcia 

“Of Women and Salt” chronicles the lives of women in a Cuban family that spans centuries of political turmoil and hardship. Garcia leverages pivotal moments in Cuban history to highlight the violence of displacement, the power of memory and the legacy of resilience left behind by the women who came before us. 

“Smallie” by Eden McKenzie Goddard

“Smallie” follows a Bajan-British family who must set aside their differences as their Barbadian mother faces deportation. Told in alternating timelines, this novel incorporates the emergence of the Windrush scandal, exposing the shortcomings of a bureaucratic system that fails to preserve immigrant rights. 

“The Farming of Bones” by Edwidge Danticat 

In “The Farming of Bones,” a woman flees the Dominican Republic to Haiti in the aftermath of “the 1929 Trujillo Massacre”, bearing the guilt of those she left behind. Danticat dissects the strained relationship between Dominicans, Haitians and those of mixed backgrounds while capturing the grief of those torn between two lands. 

“The Taste of Sugar” by Marisel Vera

After enduring the political upheaval of the Spanish-American War, a couple finds themselves leaving Puerto Rico for the promise of a better life working on a sugar plantation in Hawaii. It isn’t long before they realize that they have been deceived, facing exploitation and horrible working conditions. “The Taste of Sugar” is a novel about resilience and of those who had no choice but to pave their own path in a land of strangers.

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