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Annie John
Jamaica Kincaid
Novel, 1985
A girl's coming of age in 1950s Antigua, shaped by colonial schooling, island landscape and a fraught mother-daughter bond.
Books by country North America
Books set in Antigua and Barbuda
Eight books by writers from Antigua and Barbuda, set there, that give a real sense of the place, starting with Annie John and A Small Place.
About the literature of Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda's best-known writer is Jamaica Kincaid, whose essay A Small Place (1988) is a sharp look at the island's colonial legacy and tourism. Her novel Annie John traces a girl's coming of age in 1950s Antigua, shaped by colonial schooling and a fraught bond with her mother. English is the official language and Antiguan Creole is widely spoken. Colonial history and life after independence run through much of the writing.
Joanne C. Hillhouse is another Antiguan voice, and she also runs Wadadli Pen, a programme that encourages young writers. Her novel Musical Youth centres on teenagers and a music-filled summer, while The Boy from Willow Bend tells of a young boy growing up amid class divisions and village life in a changing island.
By writers from Antigua and Barbuda
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A Small Place
Jamaica Kincaid
Essays, 1988
A sharp essay on Antigua's colonial legacy, tourism, corruption and everyday life after independence.
Mr. Potter
Jamaica Kincaid
Novel, 2002
A portrait of an illiterate Antiguan chauffeur, tracing island life and its colonial and postcolonial settings across the twentieth century.
My Brother
Jamaica Kincaid
Memoir, 1997
A memoir of her brother's death from AIDS, set among family, illness and medical poverty in Antigua.
At the Bottom of the River
Jamaica Kincaid
Short stories, 1983
Lyrical short stories rooted in Antiguan childhood, family and the Caribbean landscape.
The Boy from Willow Bend
Joanne C. Hillhouse
Novel, 2003
A young Antiguan boy's story of class, family and village life in a changing island.
Oh Gad!
Joanne C. Hillhouse
Novel, 2012
A contemporary novel set in Antigua that explores island society, tourism, relationships and identity.
Musical Youth
Joanne C. Hillhouse
Novel, 2014
A novel of Antiguan teenagers and a music-filled summer, showing modern island life, class and ambition.
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