You know you’re enjoying a book when you walk with it in your handbag everywhere you go. Then the book takes you so far from your present place that, as you dive up from the scenes you’re submerged in, you realise ages have passed, you’re back in your modern day.
When Trees Fall by Dale Mahfood transported me away from the cardiologist’s office as I waited for my mother to complete her hours-long tests, to Jamaica during WW2.
It shows the life of a wealthy white family, of young Jamaicans rejected by society, and a black worker who yearns for acceptance. Cailin, pretty blonde, doesn’t understand why the other girls snicker when they see her, why parents pull away their children. Archie, good looking bi-racial friend, is bullied at school. Sharpe, a black foreman, struggles for power with the village obeah (magic) man.
The characters range from delightful to downright dreadful and there’s one I outright despise. Malcolm. Brutal to the core. Perhaps there’s a sad, painful reason for his behaviour but, right now, I don’t care.
The contrasts between the lives of the people fascinate me. The wealthy move with horses and car; the less fortunate walk for days to get to their destination. The story itself moves between innocence and brutality, the idyllic and the sordid.
Dale Mahfood is a gentle writer. He leads you quietly through lush landscape into harsh reality that makes you pause, stare into space with sorrow.
I can’t wait to read the follow up book!