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From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island | 
 enlarge | Author: Lorna Goodison
Publisher: Amistad
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $5.99
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Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 339079
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061337552
Dewey Decimal Number: 811.54
EAN: 9780061337550
ASIN: 0061337552
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
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Product Description
"Throughout her life my mother [Doris] lived in two places at once: Kingston, Jamaica, where she raised a family of nine children, and Harvey River, in the parish of Hanover, where she was born and grew up." In the tradition of Michael Ondaatje's Running in the Family and Carlos Eire's Waiting for Snow in Havana comes Lorna Goodison's luminous memoir of her forebears—From Harvey River. When Doris' English grandfather, William Harvey, discovers a clearing at the end of a path cut by the feet of those running from slavery, he gives his name to what will become his family's home for generations. For Doris, Harvey River is the place she always called home, the place where she was one of the "fabulous Harvey girls" and where the rich local bounty of the land went hand in hand with the Victorian niceties and comforts of her parents' house. It is a place she will return to in dreams when her fortunes change, years later, and she and her husband, Marcus Goodison, relocate to "hard life" Kingston and encounter the harsh realities of urban living in close quarters as they raise their family of nine children. In lush prose, Lorna Goodison weaves memory and island lore to create a vivid, universally appealing tapestry.
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| Customer Reviews:
The Fabulous Harvey Girls July 19, 2008
Dera R Williams (Oakland, CA United States)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Poet and college professor Lorna Goodison brings a heartwarming story of family life and community in the memoir of her beloved birthplace, Jamaica, in From Harvey River: A Memoir of My Mother and Her Island. Goodison's great-grandfather, Englishman William Harvey, and his brother founded and built the community of Harvey River in 1840. William married Frances Duhaney, despite being told that black women were acceptable as concubines but not as wives. Their son, David, was a self-taught lawyer, who served his village for many years acting as legal counsel. His daughter, Doris, Goodison's mother, was one of the "fabulous Harvey Girls."
The five Harvey sisters benefited from their family name; they were respected in the community and were expected to conduct themselves as ladies at all times. One time Doris was bathing in the river and a young man visiting from another town did not give her the privacy required. Well, that young man was called upon by David Harvey, Doris' father, and her brothers, at his relatives' home, and made to understand that the Harvey girls were held in high esteem. When they went into the main town of Lucea, all the young men turned out to gaze upon and win the charms of the sisters. Their maternal grandfather was an Irishman who later came to live with the family in his later years and one of their grandmothers was a Guinea woman who was said to have mystical powers. Such an illustrious ancestral background made for much family folklore, superstitions and unity.
For awhile after Doris married Marcus Goodison, life was good, but when the author was a young girl in the 1930s, the family's fortunes turned and they were forced to move to Kingston to find work. Being in a big city as Kingston was an adjustment for Doris and her status as a Harvey was of no consequence. She was just another poor, young wife and mother trying to keep food on the table and raise her children. Her strength of character, however, would not allow her to give up. She became sought after for her excellent seamstress skills and she was the community mother and mentor to many children. Her children thrived and Lorna, the author, has wonderful memories of a special summer with her grandmother at Harvey River.
This memoir was rich with tradition and beautiful detail. I could see the women washing clothes in the Harvey River and taste the Lucea yams melting in my mouth. Goodison's poetic writing brought the cadence of the language and mannerisms of the people of Harvey River to life. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy memoirs and especially love reading about different cultures of the Black Diaspora. Rating 4.5
Dera R. Williams
APOOO BookClub
A great read June 3, 2008
Rosa J. Hilliard (Florissant, MO USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book was a great read. If gave me insight to life in Jamacia. Not the The characters were human with all the foibles that go along with being human. You could see all the good, the bad, and the ugly of life, the weather, the living conditions, and the history that makes up island life. I truly enjoyed the pictures enclosed identifying some of the people i nthe book. All in all I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical reads.
I think the books rates a 4.5.
I know I should have given it 5 stars but I tend to give very few 5 stars.
Engaging Memoir April 26, 2008
Melissa S. (New York, NY)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ms. Goodison manages to do what a great many writers hope to do but seldom achieve - produce work that is illuminating and engaging. This is a beautifully written book filled with rich, authentic descriptions of Jamaican life and offers an often candid view of her family and people. As such, whether you are from the Caribbean or not, I think that readers will be able to relate to the more universal themes of love, loss, triumph and growth and will become personally invested in Ms. Goodison's story.
In addition, Harvey River provides a great historical context in terms of geography and social mores of that country and I learned a great deal. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and intend to share with my friends and family. Well done!
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