Pao by Kerry Young

Pao

Kerry Young

What a warm and funny book with such wonderfully evocative descriptions of the island peopled with such engaging characters. I learnt a lot about the history and politics of Jamaica but there was never a dull moment as I watched Pao grow up, take over the family 'business', and develop into a complex yet moral man.

Extract
I was just a boy when I come to Jamaica .... First time I see Kingston I couldn't believe what a mess it was. Piles of wood and corrugated zinc just like it heap up in every direction, all brown and grey and zinc-sheet flat. Not like China with the yellow and the red, and the sloping roofs that peak to heaven. No, the only bit of colour I could see was this blue mountain way off yonder.
Parallels
  • Small Island by Andrea Levy
  • Sour Sweet by Timothy Mo