Wine of Astonishment
OVERVIEW OF THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT
At a glance: * First Published: 1982 * Type of Work: Novel * Type of Plot: Social realism * Time of Work: 1940’s-1950’s * Setting: Bonasse, Trinidad * Characters: Eva, Bee, Bolo, Ivan Morton, Prince * Genres: Long fiction, Social realism * Subjects: Culture, Tradition, Caribbean, Racism, Blacks, Social issues, Villages, Moral conditions, Catholics or Catholic Church, Warships, 1950's, 1930's, 1940's * Locales: Bonasse, Trinidad, Central America and West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
The Novel
The Wine of Astonishment is the story of the struggle of a Spiritual Baptist community, from the passing of the Prohibition Ordinance in 1917 until the lifting of the ban in 1951. It is told by one of the members of the church. Eva begins her narrative of the trials and sufferings of those of the Spiritual Baptist faith with the notion that there is a purpose behind it all.
The only hope for the villagers of Bonasse, as they see it, lies in Ivan Morton, a teacher turned politician, the new man in the legislative council of the country. They would like Morton to intervene on their behalf to lift the ban so that they can be free to worship in the way that they choose. Morton disappoints them and reveals his loyalty when he abandons the “house that his father build with his own two hands.” With his wife, he leaves the village, taking nothing, to live in the big house “on top of Bonasse hill looking over the sea and the whole village.” The house, which some say is haunted, has itself been abandoned by the Richardsons, colonials who have returned to England.
Meanwhile, the village undergoes significant changes with the coming of the war. An American base is established in the country, resulting in prostitution and the corruption of the youth. At the same time, the Spiritual Baptists suffer persecution at the hands of the police and government. At the center of this harassment is the cruel and relentless
At a glance: * First Published: 1982 * Type of Work: Novel * Type of Plot: Social realism * Time of Work: 1940’s-1950’s * Setting: Bonasse, Trinidad * Characters: Eva, Bee, Bolo, Ivan Morton, Prince * Genres: Long fiction, Social realism * Subjects: Culture, Tradition, Caribbean, Racism, Blacks, Social issues, Villages, Moral conditions, Catholics or Catholic Church, Warships, 1950's, 1930's, 1940's * Locales: Bonasse, Trinidad, Central America and West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
The Novel
The Wine of Astonishment is the story of the struggle of a Spiritual Baptist community, from the passing of the Prohibition Ordinance in 1917 until the lifting of the ban in 1951. It is told by one of the members of the church. Eva begins her narrative of the trials and sufferings of those of the Spiritual Baptist faith with the notion that there is a purpose behind it all.
The only hope for the villagers of Bonasse, as they see it, lies in Ivan Morton, a teacher turned politician, the new man in the legislative council of the country. They would like Morton to intervene on their behalf to lift the ban so that they can be free to worship in the way that they choose. Morton disappoints them and reveals his loyalty when he abandons the “house that his father build with his own two hands.” With his wife, he leaves the village, taking nothing, to live in the big house “on top of Bonasse hill looking over the sea and the whole village.” The house, which some say is haunted, has itself been abandoned by the Richardsons, colonials who have returned to England.
Meanwhile, the village undergoes significant changes with the coming of the war. An American base is established in the country, resulting in prostitution and the corruption of the youth. At the same time, the Spiritual Baptists suffer persecution at the hands of the police and government. At the center of this harassment is the cruel and relentless