Annie John

Product Description

Annie John "is a haunting & provocative story of a young girl growing up on the island of Antigua. A classic coming-of-age story in the tradition of " The Catcher in the Rye "and "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man " Kincaids novel focuses on a universal tragic & often comic theme: the loss of childhood. Annies voice--urgent demanding to be heard--is one that will not soon be forgotten by readers. An adored only child Annie has until recently lived an idyllic life. She is inseparable from her beautiful mother a powerful presence who is the very center of the little girls existence. Loved & cherished Annie grows & thrives within her mothers benign shadow. Looking back on her childhood she reflects " It was in such a paradise that I lived." When she turns twelve however Annies life changes in ways that are often mysterious to her. She begins to question the cultural assumptions of her island world; at school she instinctively rebels against authority; & most frighteningly her mother seeing Annie as a "young lady " ceases to be the source of unconditional adoration & takes on the new & unfamiliar guise of adversary. At the end of her school years Annie decides to leave Antigua & her family but not without a measure of sorrow especially for the mother she once knew & never ceases to mourn. " For I could not be sure " she reflects "whether for the rest of my life I would be able to tell when it was really my mother & when it was really her shadow standing between me & the rest of the world.""