What is Read Caribbean Month?
I first learned about Read Caribbean Month while scrolling through my bookstagram (@cuir_bookseeker). I saw a post by my friend @therosepetals from the Cayman Islands, where they shared some of the Caribbean Authors that impacted her. After that, I was hooked on the concept! Read Caribbean Month is a time to amplify Caribbean voices and to expand and diversify our audience's bookshelves. As a Puerto Rican I was enamored by the idea and since that moment have shared various Caribbean books. Before the month ends I wanted to highlight 5 books by Female Caribbean authors that impacted me as a student and as a person.
@therosepetals_ post about Read Caribbean Month and Pride Month. Go and follow them!
And now onto the books!
Krik? Krak! by Haitian author Edwidge Danticat is an incredible novel packed with history, imagination, and Caribbean folklore. This anthology of heartbreaking short stories follows mainly female characters through grueling and painful experiences under dictatorships in Haiti from the 1950s-1980s.
I have reread Krik? Krak! a total of 3 times and I'm always astounded by Danticat's impeccable writing. Every time I reread this Caribbean novel I find new details, as Danticat creates a picture of the times through women's experiences—a novel of female suffering, rage, loss, dark history, motherhood, and death.
TWs: r*pe, abuse, torture, death, imprisonment
Unburnable by Marie-Elena John is one of my favorite Caribbean texts! After twenty years away, Lillian returns to her native island to face the demons of her past—and with the help of Teddy, people from her family's past, and her intuition, she will try and answer all her burning questions.
Unburnable is John's debut novel set in Martinique. Where a young woman goes back to her homeland to unravel the truth of her family's history. In a desperate attempt to find answers once denied to her, the book narrates a fusion of stories and lives that will have you desperate for more. Unburnable is a spectacularly written non-linear story of loss, matrilineal families, gender, race, sex, motherhood, colonialism, spirituality, and lies. I was shaken to my core at the stories of these women unfolding before my eyes. Especially the connection of their stories with the island's history. The book has to be seen through the lens of colonialism and feminism to be understood for its brilliance. Unburnable discusses a variety of topics surrounding scapegoating and how women of color are antagonized.
TW: m*rder, SA, death, racism, sexism
Skin Thief: Stories is a collection of gothic, dark, and sapphic short stories based in and outside of the Caribbean about women and monsters. Palumbo is a Trinidadian-Canadian speculative writer whose background shines in her dark stories. Each short story focuses on a different mythological or folkloric monster. The novel expands through the genres of fantasy, science fiction, and folklore through the use of Rakshasi, gods, witches, snake-women and so much more to enhance the stories of each female character. Palumbo discusses topics of abuse, generational trauma, diaspora, sexism, queerness, and evolution through gritting edginess and dark scenarios. Skin Thief has become one of my favorite short story collections, a clever, queer, innovative take on folklore and Caribbean stories.
TW: murder, SA, death, gore, abuse
Sister Outsider by Caribbean Aquarius poet Audre Lorde is a collection of essays and speeches focused on her life as a black Lesbian mother and writer. Audre Lorde through personal experiences shows the intersectionality of oppression through her work. Focusing on themes such as sexism, feminism, racism, ageism, homophobia, classism, and Queerness. Lorde discusses the value of writing like poetry for dismantling oppressive systems.
I am a massive fan of Lorde, her writing, and especially her extensive work in social justice.
Where There Are Monsters by Breanne McIvor is a collection of contemporary short stories flourishing with folkloric themes and complex characters.
McIvor creates flawed characters with deep turmoils and secrets that will have you questioning reality. Many of her texts are packed with folkloric settings/characters found in Carribean culture. A riveting anthology with themes of sexism, racism, nationalism, myths, music, and the Caribbean.
TW: murder, racism, sexism
Women/AFAB authors in the Caribbean are some of the best and most innovative writers I have had the pleasure of reading. Many of these authors are giants in the book industry and some are authors I recently heard of thanks to my masters. I highly recommend these books, and to check out the author's platforms for their other works. The Caribbean is an archipelago full of talent and incredible stories. For more posts such as this, follow my Instagram account @cuir_bookseeker.
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