A moving story, 10 Apr 2005
I consider Annie as one of or perhaps Kincaid's best written novels. It successfully and succinctly describes the unsettling feelings of a young girl growing up into adulthood, who having lived a life sheltered by her parents, must find a path by herself because her parents could not relate to the transition in her life, a transition that is different from the life her parents were used to. This book brilliantly explored the relationship between a mother and her rapidly maturing daughter and will serve as a helpful story to mothers and daughters the world over. This is one enjoyable , emotional and truthful story you will cherish.

Also recommended are: The usurper and Other Stories, Disciples of Fortune, A Small place

An Angel guided the authors hand, 12 Jun 2004
A book of wonder. I read the book at one go. Divinely written. Jamaica Kincaid has the most exceptional writing talent, I have ever seen.
A lovely, uplifting novel. A blessing. Food for the soul.

A moving story, 10 Apr 2005
I consider Annie as one of or perhaps Kincaid's best written novels. It successfully and succinctly describes the unsettling feelings of a young girl growing up into adulthood, who having lived a life sheltered by her parents, must find a path by herself because her parents could not relate to the transition in her life, a transition that is different from the life her parents were used to. This book brilliantly explored the relationship between a mother and her rapidly maturing daughter and will serve as a helpful story to mothers and daughters the world over. This is one enjoyable , emotional and truthful story you will cherish.

Also recommended are: The usurper and Other Stories, Disciples of Fortune, A Small place

An Angel guided the authors hand, 12 Jun 2004
A book of wonder. I read the book at one go. Divinely written. Jamaica Kincaid has the most exceptional writing talent, I have ever seen.
A lovely, uplifting novel. A blessing. Food for the soul.

Long prose poem to Kincaid's father, 04 Sep 2006
I was really looking forward to reading Jamaica Kincaid's stuff, but was unable to get hold of her most famous book (`Annie John') so settled for `Mr Potter' instead. It certainly wasn't a book I hated, but it also didn't blow me away either. It is a wistful look at Kincaid's own biological father (Roderick Potter), covering the whole of his life from birth to death. It is not an elegy to Potter, indeed there is precious little praise for him as a man. Instead it looks at his aimless, dreamless existence. He is unable to read or write, and has no desire to do so, and unwilling to be a father, despite leaving children (including Kincaid) scattered around his home town of St. John. He is surly, selfish, depressed and alone (though not lonely). `Mr Potter' emphasises the pointless circularity of his existence, coming from a father who was similar to him, and giving rise to children who will be similar to him. Kincaid stresses that she, in being able to write about her father, is trying to break this chain, so the book is as much about her writing being a way of escaping Potter's legacy, as it is about Potter himself.
`Mr Potter' was clearly a very personal and heartfelt memoir of an absent and uncaring father. However, the writing style made it very hard for me to get into. `Mr Potter' was written as a long prose poem, with an almost stream-of-consciousness style. Although this is a great way of getting inside Kincaid's head, it also, in my opinion, make it hard to get a sense of direction in the book. There is no narrative, and no real sense of purpose to the book as a whole. Novellas written like this can be enthralling, but at nearly 200 pages it just made it a bit of a slog to stick with. Kincaid is definitely an accomplished writer, and I wouldn't avoid reading her stuff in the future, but `Mr Potter' wasn't the great read that I had hoped for.