by Marlon James
First published 2018
This collection gathers fiction, essays, and poetry from writers across seventeen island nations, from Antigua to Tonga. The pieces examine romantic relationships disrupted by distance, political movements that fracture communities, and children who witness historical upheavals they cannot yet understand. Characters leave their birthplaces seeking opportunity elsewhere, then struggle with whether and how to return home. Writers from Barbados, Jamaica, Singapore, Malta, Cyprus, and twelve other territories contribute work that captures the particular experience of island life. As Marlon James notes in his introduction, islanders exist in constant motion, simultaneously confined by water and connected to distant shores. These authors write from places that appear remote on maps but produce voices that speak to universal experiences. The collection represents the fourth publication from Peekash Press, an imprint dedicated to emerging Caribbean literature through the CaribLit project. The stories reveal how island people live between worlds, maintaining family ties across oceans through remittances and phone calls, never fully present in one place yet never entirely absent from another.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, leaving-home, returning-home
Setting: Antigua, Barbados, Caribbean, Cyprus, Jamaica, Malta, Singapore, Tonga
Period: 21st-century
174 pages · Hardcover · Peekash Press