The Emigrants by George Lamming
The Emigrants is an elaborately conceived novel, dense with dynamic characters and evocative details. First published in 1954, it focuses initially on the emigrant journey, then on the settling-in process. The journey by sea and subsequent attempts at resettlement provide the fictional framework for Lamming's exploration of the alienation and displacement caused by colonialism. This is the epic journey of a group of West Indians who emigrate to Great Britain in the 1950s in search of educational opportunities unattainable at home. Seeking to redefine themselves in the mother country, an idealized landscape that they have been taught to revere, the emigrants settle uncomfortably in England's industrial cities. Within two years, ghettoization is firmly in place. The emigrants discover the meaning of their marginality in the British Empire in an environment that is unexpectedly hostile and strange. For some, alienation prompts a new sense of community, a new sense of identity as West Indians. For others, alienation leads to a crisis of confrontation with the law and fugitive status. There is a wealth of information here about the genesis of the black British community and about the cultural differences between the black British and West Indian/Caribbean.
The Emigrants very thought-provokingIt shows how adrift black people can be as they search for a political, economic and social context. It should also be read as an example of how black people have tried to use the novel to tell their own unique story in a unique way." —Quarterly Black Review
Lamming, George: - George Lamming was born on June 8, 1927, in Barbados. The illustrious Caribbean novelist/thinker, who has also lived in Trinidad, England, and the USA, is the author of six novels and a highly influential collection of essays, The Pleasures of Exile (1960). Lamming now makes his home in Barbados where he remains actively involved in the cultural life of the Caribbean. Awards and honors include a Guggenheim, the Sommerset Maugham Award, a Canadian Council Fellowship, a British Commonwealth Foundation grant, the Presidents Award from St. Martin Book Fair, the Hibiscus Prize from the Association of Cuban Writers and Artists, and an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies and City University of New York. His more recent books of essential essays, Western Education and the Caribbean Intellectual and SOVEREIGNTY OF THE IMAGINATION are the newest collections of his Conversations series.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780472064700 |
| ISBN 10 | 0472064703 |
| Title | The Emigrants |
| Author | George Lamming |
| Series | Ann Arbor Paperbacks |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | The University of Michigan Press |
| Year published | 1994-05-31 |
| Number of pages | 298 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |