George Lamming

A society not known by many Americans is depicted in this novel of a group of West Indian artists living in contemporary London.

In one of the most important of all Caribbean novels, first published in 1958, Lamming probes beneath the surface of apparent reality to explore an ethics of perception, communication and knowledge. In its tension between tragedy and hope, its poetry and multiple layerings, Lamming's novel invites the reader to envision both the possibilities of change and the difficulty of achieving it. --Book Jacket.

George Lamming's "In the Castle of My Skin" skilfully depicts the Barbadian psyche. Set against the backdrop of the 1930s riots which helped to pave the way for Independence and the modern Barbados, through the eyes of a young boy, Lamming portrays the social, racial, political and urban struggles with which Barbados continues to grapple even with some thirty-three years of Political Independence from Britain.