Brother Man

By Roger Mais

Book Overview

This novel brings alive the dance and laughter of the poor struggling for existence in the slums of Jamaica. In particular it portrays the Rastafarian cult.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 043598585X
• ISBN13: 9780435985851
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 0.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.7" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Brother Man, Rasta Man

Roger Mais' novel laid the groundwork for other experimentation within the novel form and broke the mold of West Indian fiction with a Rasta protagonist. Good and evil, Sin and Redemption are localized and riffed on by the alternating characters. A breakthrough novel.

Crucial Literature

It's a shame that the Caribbean Writers Series is out of print, for if the other 34 titles are like this, the world is at a loss. The sophomore effort from Jamaican author Mais, Brother Man embodies the best of modern literture of the immediate post-war era. Fundamentally a tale of good over evil, of piety over wickedness, the novel is lyrical, with characters and storylines interweaving like solos in jazz. Mais' style has an openness to it that - to further the jazz reference - is like third-stream jazz, where the silences are as important as the notes, allowing the imagination to flesh out what Mais has left unsaid. And as a bonus for the reggae fan, the lead character is a Rasta. Well worth searching out.