Berthas

 Berthas is a novel exploring the Black British Caribbean Identity of Black British Caribbean Women and the notion of 'blackness.'  Set in both the UK and the West Indies, Berthas explores the issues of hybridity, diaspora, and duality; following four women over four generations. The imagery presented is vivid and the language is lyrical. This emotive tale begins with the death of a matriarch and ends in the birth of her granddaughter.

 

Berthas is written in a lyrical style much like Toni Morrison's Jazz (1992), Beloved (1987) as well as Sam Selvon's Lonely Londoners (1956). Like these novels, Berthas has a distinct but modern style that deliberately links with these lyrical novels. And like the characters and people it represents, the structure of this novel is of a hybrid nature. Berthas rests within the oral tradition of the Caribbean as well as incorporating the traditional superstitious beliefs that survived African Slavery, combined/compared with the religious Christian beliefs of the West, and is very much set in the modern world. The language is also reflective of the hybridity of the people, combining English with Patois in order to create a new language for a new people. 

 

The structure combines different voices, exploring Double Consciousness through Dissociative Identity Disorder, and the hybridity of culture and experience through Revisionist Literature. These voices overlap at times, creating a sense of confusion which is reflective of the theorised collective sense of cultural confusion of being Black Caribbean British. Berthas also examines the internal voice much like Bessie Heads, A Question of Power (1973). 

 

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Berthas

 Berthas is a novel exploring the Black British Caribbean Identity of Black British Caribbean Women and the notion of 'blackness.'  Set in both the UK and the West Indies, Berthas explores the issues of hybridity, diaspora, and duality; following four women over four generations. The imagery presented is vivid and the language is lyrical. This emotive tale begins with the death of a matriarch and ends in the birth of her granddaughter.

 

Berthas is written in a lyrical style much like Toni Morrison's Jazz (1992), Beloved (1987) as well as Sam Selvon's Lonely Londoners (1956). Like these novels, Berthas has a distinct but modern style that deliberately links with these lyrical novels. And like the characters and people it represents, the structure of this novel is of a hybrid nature. Berthas rests within the oral tradition of the Caribbean as well as incorporating the traditional superstitious beliefs that survived African Slavery, combined/compared with the religious Christian beliefs of the West, and is very much set in the modern world. The language is also reflective of the hybridity of the people, combining English with Patois in order to create a new language for a new people. 

 

The structure combines different voices, exploring Double Consciousness through Dissociative Identity Disorder, and the hybridity of culture and experience through Revisionist Literature. These voices overlap at times, creating a sense of confusion which is reflective of the theorised collective sense of cultural confusion of being Black Caribbean British. Berthas also examines the internal voice much like Bessie Heads, A Question of Power (1973). 

 

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Berthas

Berthas

by Cheryl Diane Parkinson
Berthas

Berthas

by Cheryl Diane Parkinson

eBook

$2.99 

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Overview

 Berthas is a novel exploring the Black British Caribbean Identity of Black British Caribbean Women and the notion of 'blackness.'  Set in both the UK and the West Indies, Berthas explores the issues of hybridity, diaspora, and duality; following four women over four generations. The imagery presented is vivid and the language is lyrical. This emotive tale begins with the death of a matriarch and ends in the birth of her granddaughter.

 

Berthas is written in a lyrical style much like Toni Morrison's Jazz (1992), Beloved (1987) as well as Sam Selvon's Lonely Londoners (1956). Like these novels, Berthas has a distinct but modern style that deliberately links with these lyrical novels. And like the characters and people it represents, the structure of this novel is of a hybrid nature. Berthas rests within the oral tradition of the Caribbean as well as incorporating the traditional superstitious beliefs that survived African Slavery, combined/compared with the religious Christian beliefs of the West, and is very much set in the modern world. The language is also reflective of the hybridity of the people, combining English with Patois in order to create a new language for a new people. 

 

The structure combines different voices, exploring Double Consciousness through Dissociative Identity Disorder, and the hybridity of culture and experience through Revisionist Literature. These voices overlap at times, creating a sense of confusion which is reflective of the theorised collective sense of cultural confusion of being Black Caribbean British. Berthas also examines the internal voice much like Bessie Heads, A Question of Power (1973). 

 


Product Details

BN ID: 2940166343260
Publisher: Lemons & Gold Publishing
Publication date: 04/22/2022
Sold by: Draft2Digital
Format: eBook
File size: 458 KB

About the Author

Cheryl Diane Parkinson, Ph.D. is a prolific British-Caribbean Author, Educator, and Mother from Norfolk, UK. 

Dr. Parkinson has an immensely distinct writing voice, very lyrical and filled with prose. Her patois (patwa) in  Berthas comes through the pages so seamlessly and eloquently, you can hear each character as an individual, you can distinguish between Aunt Ivy and Uncle Glanford, and the many other lovable characters you will meet in the story. If you are not so familiar with Caribbean patois, the message is still quite the same. With her Ph.D. in Creative Writing with Studies in Dissociative Identity Disorder from Birmingham University, Cheryl has published several works including The Revolving Door (2018); Racial Biases in Education (2020), and Black Girl Rising (2021). Her novel, Berthas, will be published in Spring 2022 by Lemons & Gold Publishing.

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