A Small Place

Kincaid discusses British colonialism, the corruption of the Antiguan government, racism, and greed. It seems to me a key question raised by the book is whether post-colonial Antigua is worse than colonial Antigua. The book is very much haunted by the spectre of New World slavery.

This book is a dark, angry jeremiad. I think it works better when seen as an extended prose poem rather than as an essay. As the latter, it could be criticized as full of invalid generalizations and undocumented claims. But as a poetic/prophetic text, it is chillingly effective.

Ultimately, Kincaid's vision of the human condition is extremely negative But her haunting, almost hypnotic prose really held me. I recommend the book to anyone planning a trip to a poor country for their own pleasure.


An island paradise   February 5, 2005
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful

Antigua, an awe-inspiring vacation spot for Europeans and North Americans, takes on a different aura when discussed by native Jamaica Kincaid. Ms. Kincaid describes how the Antiguans feel about the tourists who visit: ugly people. Ugly because they invaded, then brought slaves to work for them so they could become rich while ignoring the needs of those who made them wealthy. Ugly because of what they've done to the island and the people who live there. Jamaica talks about the corrupt government and the hand that North Americans, British, Syrians and Lebanese play in that corruption. She describes how England paved the roads the Queen of England would travel when she visited, but left everything else in poor condition. Ms. Kincaid also mentions the drug dealers that the government ignores and those who build ugly condos for the wealthy and rent business space to the government who should be building their own space.

In a very few pages, Jamaica Kincaid says what a lot of former slaves would like to say but are perhaps too politically correct to utter. She does the job for us. Ms. Kincaid does not mince her words when it comes to what the British Empire did to the people of Antigua and the world for that matter. Frequently, I found myself wanting to stand up and cheer as I read her words of disgust and anger. While Ms. Kincaid is specifically speaking of Antigua, her words describe the slave trade and the destruction and poverty left in the wake of it no matter what country. It is well worth reading - more than once.

Reviewed by alice Holman
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


And we hate you, too   December 18, 2002
12 out of 31 found this review helpful

I am a pacifist, liberal, anti-racist, but lord help me if I wasn't a panting colonialist by the time I finished this rant. Hate breeds hate, right? And please, haven't we seen enough countries that survived the (real, horriffic) oppression of the West only to thrive? Haven't we given up on the idea of island paradises (they weren't) despoiled (true) by Europeans? Haven't we admitted that slavery was not unique to whites, that Africans (and Asians, and Pacific Islanders, and . . .) have long dehumanized others, and other races? Haven't we accepted that colonialism disfigured, but did not ruin, peoples, that almost ALL races and peoples have been colonized at one point or another? Not Ms. Kincaid. No one could begrudge her her anger; but her hatred? About as useful as a whip on the back.


The selling out of the West Indies   January 21, 2003
J. Sears (Michigan)
12 out of 22 found this review helpful

Unfortunately, I had to buy A Small Place for my University of Michigan class on Latin America. I'm horrified that students and people will believe the West Indies is such a bad place from this book. Horrified. Believe me, I was born and lived in Barbados, an island close and similar in attitude to Antigua. Many everyday activities in Barbados that occur in Antigua are turned into Dateline "controversy of the week" issues. People, it's not that serious! What's worse, she doesn't even touch the real issues of the Caribbean. Not to mention, Jamaica Kincaid wrote the account as a longtime resident of the US. She doesn't even sound like a West Indian; she sounds like a pampered, naive North American who believes every nation that doesn't have a McDonald's on every block is third world, to exaggerate. White superiority is the myth this book perpetuates, and the West Indies is once again made out as a "Banana Republic." What's worse, half of the book's claims aren't even true, nor do natives consider them major issues. A warning to North Americans and Westerners alike; take this book with a grain of salt, most of this account is cornball, "what people want to hear" bull. Unfortunately, most people will believe this "tragedy." Please don't. I'm never believing anything Western media says about the rest of the world again.


The lovely tourists   April 30, 2006
C. Payne (Fargo, ND)
11 out of 33 found this review helpful

I had to read this book for a Multicultural Literature class at my Uni, and, far from being informative, all it did was fill with me a contempt of my own. I am not a racist by any means, but when confronted with such a bitter, snide voice as the one Kincaid displays, I find myself unconsciously getting defensive. When she says, "you are a tourist; you are ugly," I find myself saying, "Fine, I'll keep my money and let you trade with seashells and beads." Kincaid is a master of the self-fulfilling prophecy: she says Antiguans are so oppressed and so downtrodden and so angry, and rather than doing anything to help it, she's exacerbating it by using such a bitter, over-the-top voice.

Other reviewers have stated that the vision of Antigua portrayed is a warped and extremely limited one, biased by Kincaid's apparent small mindedness, and I must confess that I'm glad to hear that. To think that the entire island is solely occupied by bitter people who imagine themselves to be ex-slaves would make me steer clear of the area any time I go on vacation.

Because, yes, I am a tourist. And no, being a tourist does not automatically make anyone ugly, despite what Kincaid's bitter rant might say.