a book
Summer Lightning
Olive Senior · 1986 · 134 pages
Olive Senior is one of Jamaica's most exciting creative talents. Summer Lightning is her first collection of short stories.
Her setting is rural Jamaica; her heroes are the naïve and the vulnerable, who bring to life with power and realism issues such as snobbery, ambition, jealousy, faith and love.
Written in vivid, colourful detail, these rich compelling stories recreate with sensitivity and wit a whole range of emotions, from childhood hope to brooding melancholy. Each is told with an affectionate and poignant perception of you and I at our best and worst. Gently we are led, laughing, crying, but always enjoying.
Her setting is rural Jamaica; her heroes are the naïve and the vulnerable, who bring to life with power and realism issues such as snobbery, ambition, jealousy, faith and love.
Written in vivid, colourful detail, these rich compelling stories recreate with sensitivity and wit a whole range of emotions, from childhood hope to brooding melancholy. Each is told with an affectionate and poignant perception of you and I at our best and worst. Gently we are led, laughing, crying, but always enjoying.
recommended by 1 person
sourced from public statements
Marlon James
“Because she taught me everything about matching devastation with economy. The entire future of Caribbean prose is mapped out in this collection of stories, and I don’t know a single Caribbean writer who doesn’t reread it often.”↗