Gustas is nearly killed in the hurricane, trying to save his banana tree; Nenna and her brother Man-Man patrol the cocnut plantation in the dead of night, ready to catch interlopers; Becky longs for a bicycle and Fanso longs to find his father who walked out thirteen years ago. This is a wonderfully atmospheric collection of contemporary short stories that bring James Berry's Caribbean childhood vividly to life.
James Berry was born and grew up in Jamaica. He is a distinguished writer and poet. In 1982 he won the National Poetry Society's Annual Prize for Fantasy of an African Boy, and in 1987 A Thief in the Village was the Grand Prix winner of the Smarties Prize. He lives both in Jamaica and in Sussex.