Cliff and Ossi have grown up in Plymouth on the island of Tobago, their lives turning on the axis of small-town life. One day they watch the arrival of a couple and their child at a luxurious house overlooking the ocean. The couple invites Cliff into their home and lives, and in that cool'flim-style' house, the harsh, brittle life of urban Plymouth is kept briefly at bay, desires obscuring differences in class and race. But then things begin to go wrong-money vanishes, the couple's car disappears-and those differences are brought suddenly to light, raising unsettling questions about relationships, wealth, and responsibility.
Oonya Kempadoo's Tide Running is effective, beautiful, and haunting . . . and pulses with a distinctive Caribbean rhythm.--Glenville Lovell, Washington Post
'With a finely tuned ear for the cadences of the Caribbean . . .. Kempadoo succeeds in turning an unsettling tale into an exploration of the global politics of desire.'--The New Yorker
'A vividly imagined [tale] by this poetically gifted, politically incisive young Caribbean writer.'--Elle magazine
Cliff and Ossi have grown up in Plymouth on the island of Tobago, their lives turning on the axis of small-town life. One day they watch the arrival of a couple and their child at a luxurious house overlooking the ocean. The couple invites Cliff into their home and lives, and in that cool'flim-style' house, the harsh, brittle life of urban Plymouth is kept briefly at bay, desires obscuring differences in class and race. But then things begin to go wrong-money vanishes, the couple's car disappears-and those differences are brought suddenly to light, raising unsettling questions about relationships, wealth, and responsibility.
Praise
Oonya Kempadoo's Tide Running is effective, beautiful, and haunting . . . and pulses with a distinctive Caribbean rhythm.--Glenville Lovell, Washington Post
'With a finely tuned ear for the cadences of the Caribbean . . .. Kempadoo succeeds in turning an unsettling tale into an exploration of the global politics of desire.'--The New Yorker
'A vividly imagined [tale] by this poetically gifted, politically incisive young Caribbean writer.'--Elle magazine
