The acclaimed Jamaican author Melanie Schwapp writes this novel from the point of view of her protagonist, Milly Pratt, who goes from living a humble existence with her mother, amidst near poverty, to a golden life with her husband.
Schwapp seamlessly takes the character of Milly on as herself, so you feel as if it’s more a personal memoir than a work of fiction. However, it’s not written in chronological order, rather Milly haphazardly describes her experiences, often repeating herself in the process. This messiness matches the messiness of Milly’s life, even though only the reader is privy to this. The people who are actually in her life merely see a fortunate woman, not one being banged up by her husband.
As you read through the book, you will become incensed by the so-called “stupidity” or “carelessness” of women who let men have their cake and eat it too. This theme is no stranger to our own lives in Jamaica, nor to many women across the world, but when it’s depicted on the pages we pore over, it nauseatingly resonates and sticks to us. Whether this is because we have the knowledge of some form of abuse happening to others whom we know well, or to ourselves, the heaviness of it haunts the daily lives of so many. Ergo, Milly’s plight might pull your spirit down for a time, but hang in there and she might figure out where the actual gold lies.
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