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The Islands: Stories Audiobook
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Powerful stories that explore the legacy of colonialism and issues of race, immigration, sexual discrimination, and class in the lives of Jamaican women across London, Panama, France, Jamaica, Florida and more
The Islands follows the lives of Jamaican women, immigrants or the
descendants of immigrants, who have relocated all over the world to escape the ghosts of colonialism on what they call the Island. Set in the United States, Jamaica, and Europe, these international stories examine the lives of an uncertain and unsettled cast of characters.
In one story, a woman and her husband impulsively leave San Francisco and move to Florida with wild dreams of American reinvention only to unearth the cracks in their marriage. In another, the only Jamaican mother—who is also a touring comedienne—at a prep school feels pressure to volunteer in the school’s International Day. Meanwhile, in a third story, a travel writer finally connects with the mother who once abandoned her.
Set in locations and times ranging from 1950s London to 1960s Panama to modern-day New Jersey, these stories reveal the intricacies of immigration and assimilation in this debut, establishing a new and unforgettable voice in Caribbean-American literature.
Restless, displaced, and disconnected, these characters try to ground themselves—to grow where they find themselves planted—in a world in which the tension between what’s said and unsaid can bend the soul.
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“The quintessential immigrant story, no matter where and when in time. I love this new voice giving life to Caribbean stories.”
— NPR
Quotes
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“The collection teaches us what kinds of respites can be found in diaspora—fleeting, begrudging, but real nonetheless.”
— New York Times Book Review
Awards
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A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice of the Week
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An NPR Best Book of the Year
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Longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award
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About Dionne Irving
Dionne Irving is the author of Quint, her first novel, and a short-story collection, The Islands, which was longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Her work has appeared in Story, Boulevard, LitHub, Missouri Review, and New Delta Review, among other journals and magazines. She teaches in the creative writing program and initiative on race and resilience programs at the University of Notre Dame.
About Chanté McCormick
Zura Johnson is a classically trained stage actor. She has performed in stages from her childhood home in California to the East coast, and all the way to Singapore. She has now worked in theater and as a voice actor for more than twenty years. She holds an MFA from the Old Globe Theatre and the University of San Diego.