Annie John

On the peaceful tropical island of Antigua, Annie John lives her childhood in a paradisiacal environment, under the protection of her parents and educated in a good school. But, as in most paradises, in some dark corner she lurks the serpent. As Annie leaves childhood behind, the inevitable physical and emotional transformations herald a new phase, marked by rebellion, questioning of her little universe and, to her chagrin, changes in her mother, who replaces her unconditional love with a sudden female rivalry. At the end of school, Annie leaves Antigua and her family behind, but she carries with her grief for the mother she once loved. With her lucid, essential style and an urgent, harrowing and universally familiar voice, Jamaica Kincaid develops the theme that is at the heart of her work: the ambivalence of maternal bonds and the difficult transition from childhood to adolescence.