Songs of Silence
by Curdella Forbes

A sequence of beautifully crafted tales, Songs of Silence is a colourful patchwork of observations of life in rural Jamaica, as seen through the eyes of a young girl. Held together by the sure and simple voice of a child, this powerful collection is interspersed with the whisper of adult reflection, rendering the accounts at once sensuous and disarmingly honest.

Inhabiting an elusive space between what is said and what is felt, what is conveyed and what is perceived, silence becomes a metaphor of rage and fear, of loneliness and contentment, confusion and clarification in these songs that explore social change and individual growth.

Oscillating between Creole and Standard English, Songs of Silence is an accomplished piece of writing distinguished by an extraordinary sophistication of language and stylistic confidence. Relayed with a rare intimacy and detail, recollections are translated into a series of tales in which the narrator becomes a mouthpiece for a multiplicity of voices, each with their own story to tell.

This novel comprises a series of eight linked episodes, all of which focus on different members of a rural community in Jamaica, seen through the eyes of a young girl growing up and remembered by the adult she became.