While there are several pages of an introduction to this, I didn’t read them. I’m stubborn about learning about a work on my own and only rarely do I seek out information as listed in research or forewards or even the back cover unless I’m really stumped. Such as with my introduction to Faulkner.
With that said, I’ve entered into a world that is discomfiting at best. The first person narrator is recalling a childhood that is not a happy, loving place to be. Her father has supposedly drunk himself to death, the mother is holding on to dreams while trying to raise two children in a place where the family is considered not of high social status. There is an emphasis on the difference of people based on color and class and there seems to be a determination to survive within it.
Rhys’ writing is adept at getting through the mood and voice without a dependence upon adjectives. Instead, the short sentence structure, the bluntness of what is said, and the dialogue go far in setting the environment and the interaction of the characters.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology