“Kempadoo is extraordinary . . . Her powerful novel about an ill-starred ménage â trios—set as it is against a backdrop of devastating natural beauty and overwhelming material poverty, and written with an incantatory lyricism—represents one of the finest attempts to come to terms with the emotional fault lines and historical complexities of contemporary Caribbean society.”
—Junot Diaz, author of Drown
“The dialogue is one of the chief pleasures of the book, and the rhythms of Oonya Kempadoo's prose with its poetic interest in sound and evocative phrasing become hypnotic.”
—Bronwyn Rivers, The Times Literary Supplement
Oonya Kempadoo's second novel, Tide Running is about brothers Ossi and Cliff Dunstan, poor young men who have grown-up in impoverished Plymouth on the island of Tobago, and their intensifying relationship with a wealthy couple who have taken up residence on the island in the opulent home of a friend. The lives of Bella, a mixed-race Trinidadian photographer, her white, English, corporate lawyer husband, Peter, and their son Oliver intersect with the lives of Ossi and Cliff on the jetty, where the brothers hang out and the family goes to relax in the sun and take in the lush seascape. The striking beauty of the boys beguiles Peter and Bella and Ossi and Cliff can't help but notice the fancy Johnson family car and the couple's obvious affluence. A casual invitation from Peter to the boys results in a Saturday afternoon of Cliff and Ossi relaxing in the luxury of the all white house overlooking the ocean. Soon Cliff, the oldest at 20, is spending a good deal of time there and a sexual relationship begins between Cliff, Bella and Peter.
While the couple apparently give no thought to the implications of inviting a young man for whom life holds no prospects into their home and bed and Cliff proclaims, “It don't botha' me nuh,” the rift between the world of the jobless youth who spend their time ‘liming' in front of Masta Barbar and the ‘flim-style' life of Peter and Bella becomes a chasm that Cliff cannot cross. The illusion of harmony begins to unravel when a large sum of money goes missing and then the car is stolen in the middle of the night.
Told in energetic patois in the sections narrated by Cliff and lyrical stream-of-consciousness when narrated by Bella, the simplicity of the linear story belies the complex set of problems the novel encompasses. This is a story of the tensions between privilege and poverty, light skin and dark skin, sexual freedom and fidelity and ultimately, the grayest of shades of right and wrong. Kempadoo's stunning use of language and imagery make the novel a fresh and compelling read.
Oonya Kempadoo was born in Sussex in 1966 of Guyanese parents and brought up in Guyana from the age of five. She is of mixed Indian, African, Scottish and Amerindian descent. She lived briefly in Europe in her late teens before returning to the Caribbean where she has lived ever since, in St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and currently in Grenada. In 1985, she began working in costume design and manufacturing for Carnival, started a commercial textile design business, and freelanced in computer graphics. She began writing in 1997 producing Buxton Spice, a semi-autobiographical account of a rural coming of age. Tide Running is Kempadoo's second novel. In addition to her writing she does voluntary social work with a home for some of Grenada's disadvantaged teenagers.
“Most'a time me and Ossi spends riding them two small bikes Mudda did give us for Christmas, five years'a back . . . We hardly ever rides to Scarboro . . . Old bikes can't cut no style there. Laughing at how we hunch up on them li'l bikes, them fellas can make you feel small and country” (22-23). What does this quote reveal about the seemingly laid-back Cliff? What are his sources of self-esteem?
Cliff, Ossie and Lynette spend most of their time at home watching American television shows like Bold and Beautiful, Oprah, and Baywatch , with commercials in between touting products that aren't available to them. Discuss the influence of television and movies on Cliff and on his eventual actions.
When Cliff goes to court for the first time he says, “Me mudda can't even reach here yet . . . Outside I see Mudda reach. ‘I was trying to find yuh, uncle, de one in de force. What dey tell you?' She and uncle is the same kind, couldn'a never be there when you want” (158 and 160). Discuss Cliff's feelings of abandonment considering his mother's role as the sole breadwinner in the family. Find other examples of this in the book. In what ways is Cliff looking to be parented by Bella and Peter?
Discuss the symbolism of ‘de black dallie.' “Jumped from siesta sleep to living wake by something standing right over me. ‘De Black Dallie', right close to the bed, a giggle from the floor, and Cliff's head pops up” (128)(. This is the first time Cliff shows up unannounced. What does this foreshadow?
Kempadoo's writing is consistently praised for its lyrical cadences and poetic imagery. Share your favorite passage from the book, re-written in the form of a poem. Example from page 136:
A flashy proud sea horse sailed past at eye level,
Mother-of –pearl and blues glittering and trailing,
Its sea-eye watching.
Another and then another king sea horse.
Made you feel rich to see such glory.
And hold it for a minute.
Just Right.
“He's an acquaintance, a friend. We met him and his brother in Plymouth. They seemed like reasonable young people.” What does Peter's statement to the police officer on page 194, after the car has been reported stolen, say about his regard for Cliff?
S.C. voices concerns about the wisdom of inviting a Plymouth youth into Bella and Peter's home. As S.C. questions them, small interjections of Bella's thoughts reveal her own unvoiced worries. “The flash of an African mask on Cliff's face. Wasn't a crime” (133). “But his polish had disappeared sometimes. Baring a worry I still can't reach. Rough edges showing, attitudes sliding shy” (138). Why do you think the author brings in the character S.C. at this turning point of the novel?
“Just so, from one to the other, from man-friend, equal in sex, to boy . . . But same time, that's the attractive thing, the spontaneity, the naturalness. The unsteady, uncontrived mess of a growing society. Born in it but still can't make sense of it. Watch it—calm and laid-back on the surface but deep undercurrents stirring. Strong tides running” (127). Why did Kempadoo choose Tide Running as a title?
Cliff is jailed once it is discovered that he is responsible for “t'iefin” the money and taking the car for joy rides. In the interview with Kempadoo that follows, she says, “I wanted to try to deal with some hard contemporary realities but in a non-judgmental way, reporting and letting the language speak.” What are your judgments of Bella and Peter's subtler “t'iefin” and the degree of responsibility they are willing to accept?
What do you make of the character of Thomas? What purpose does he serve in propelling the narrative?
When Ossie and Cliff first visit Peter and Bella, Cliff feels as though his surroundings are unreal, “Inside the house make you feel like you on TV . . . I look at me Nikes . . . Look like it wasn't my foot, is a shiny photo, a ad” (53). Compare the innocence of this early flight of fancy to the later one on page 201. “See me speeding flying. Silva bullet. Watch me nuh. Revearse, brakes, action. Tupac rapping in yah fucking face, a short-man stand up over fire in black and white—‘Top of the world, Ma' . . . Watch me nuh.”
Cliff undergoes a sea-change of sorts, exemplified in the chapter “a suffering blue.” What important things does this stream of consciousness chapter reveal about Cliff's true nature?
Cliff observes ‘hero convic' when he goes to court. “He was good looking but something living behind he eyes” (180). He notices him again in the jail yard: “I see the fella when we go outside to bathe. The thing in he eye reco'nize me but he don't want it to, watching me and them fresh convic's bathing out'a door.” Compare his description of this predatory criminal with Bella's thoughts about Cliff in the last paragraph on page 212.
Setting plays an important role in Kempadoo's writing. Discuss her hauntingly vivid word pictures of Cliff's Tobago, verses Bella's house on the hill. The seascape is portrayed from both Cliff and Bella's point of view. How are these descriptions alike and how do they differ? How do changes in the perceptions of the character's surroundings reflect the unfolding of the story?
A reaction to the global obsession with 'women' and our problems, our introspection and our attributions of blame for our predicament. I have an interest in what is driving young men today and how this is impacting on society. And I am interested in the influence of the US media and entertainment industries on behavior and values in very different cultures.
How does this compare with how your other work has started?
It's less autobiographical. I went out to research characters, places and events once I had the makings of this story.
When did you first realise you wanted to write fiction?
When I had the makings of my first book Buxton Spice together, going through the belief in yourself and doubt at the same time, then the success of it.
Seeing it there in the New York Times Review of Books and UK national press—I thought, I better try hard to do it again and again!
Why did you start writing?
I really enjoy reading other people; there is some fantastic writing about. I thought I had a voice and that I could write in a language that was different. I wanted to try to deal with some hard contemporary realities but in a non-judgmental way, reporting and letting the language speak.
What kinds of work did you do before your first novel was published?
Freelance graphic design and Carnival costume production.
Are you now able to write full-time?
Yes, thank heavens.
What helps with your writing?
Living on a small island (Grenada) in the Caribbean with the seascape and landscape, the social microcosm of life in a small population, and the richness of what the Caribbean has done to the English language.
What hinders it?
The loneliness of it and the self-discipline you need.
What do you enjoy most about writing?
The freedom. The ideas that begin privately and then get worked out for public consumption. That you can create something that others can experience in their own time, interpret through their own experiences and insight. The challenge of getting it right, simply.
And what do you like least?
That it's a luxury. Sometimes I feel guilty that I'm not actually doing anything or helping anyone - most of the people I write about don't read, and many of them can't. And I don't like talking about it, the 'literati' side of it.
And what do you feel about the extraneous stuff - readings, signings, interviews like this - that's all part of being a writer these days?
Unfortunately it is part of being published now, so you have to make the best of it. I am spared a lot by living away from it all—flying out for nervous-making launches and things. But it's not so bad being entertained by publishers in Barcelona and Amsterdam—and sometimes a good interview can help me understand what my book was about!
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