Toppa Top 10: The Best Caribbean Books of 2011

Intro 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Honorebel Mention Honorebel Mention
December 6, 2011


6. Monique Roffey, The Woman on a Green Bicycle (fiction)


George and Sabine Harwood arrive in Trinidad on the last ship bringing English expatriates to the changing island. This novel (titled The White Woman on the Green Bicycle in some editions) follows their relationship over decades as George falls in love with the island, and Sabine is overwhelmed by everything: the climate, the history, the smallness. Her youthful obsession and frustrations with Prime Minister Eric Williams return to her late in life as she and her husband attempt to help a local victim of police brutality, opening many unresolved issues, both personal and political.