Annie John
by Jamaica Kincaid
Last year, one of the posts I enjoyed writing the most was author biographies. From both a reader's standpoint and writing posts, I think it's fascinating to take a deeper look into the author’s life. As my first book of the year, and one of my most anticipated, Annie John written by Jamaica Kincaid was first on my list.
Jamaica Kincaid was born on May 25th, 1949 in Antigua. In 1965 she left Antigua for New York and began work as an au pair before studying photography.
She first began writing articles in Inegue, The Village Voice, and Ms. magazine. Under the pseudonym of Jamaica Kincaid (a name she took up for anonymity), then began writing for the New Yorker.
Her first book published in 1983 At the Bottom of the River is a collection of short stories and Annie John, my first book of 2024, was first published in 1985. Since she began writing she has written countless articles and 19 books (fiction, non-fiction, and even a picture book).
She currently is a professor of African and African American studies at Harvard. Kincaid has two children and is an avid gardener!
Now, let’s dive into my review.
Annie John is an “adored child.” She and her mother have a complex and loving relationship. That all changes when Annie journeys from child to teenager. As she grows, their relationship changes, deepens, and becomes more complex. “She begins to question the cultural assumptions of her island world; at school she instinctively rebels against authority; and most frighteningly, her mother, seeing Annie as a young lady, ceases to be the source of unconditional adoration and takes on the new and unfamiliar guise of adversary.”
I loved this book. A coming-of-age story that follows Annie, a complex child, who basks in the love of her mother and their ever-present relationship as she journeys from child to teenager. As she grows older, she starts to find her interactions with her mom change. A certain strangeness and resentment enter her opposing her want to impress. This oddness, almost an uncanny presence between them struck a chord with me. Annie is torn between many aspects of her new teenage life: new friends, a changing body, her mother’s expectations, society's expectations, and even her wants and dreams.
While the style of this is relatively straightforward, it certainly doesn’t lack in depth. Annie contemplates death and the impact it has on her. The political conflicts between their island of Antigua and Britain lead to not only clashing culture in the doctors and Obeah and folk medicine she receives when sick, but also changes in her education. And there is the tangle of relationships Annie faces: between authority figures like her teachers and parents, friends and classmates at school, and first loves like Gwen and the Red Girl.
I felt like I could read this book 100 times and each time follow a new thread.