The Swinging Bridge - Interesting exploration of Trinidadian culture

The Swinging Bridge by Ramabai Espinet is an interesting book, but it wasn't a great one.  It's interesting because it explores a part of Trinidadian (and Canadian) culture that is overlooked, misunderstood, or perhaps even deliberately 'simplified' out of the mainstream narrative of the Caribbean.

The plot of the novel revolves around an Indian Trinidadian family and their experiences both in Trinidad and later in Canada.  Other than wondering occasionally how roti became a staple of many Caribbean (and Toronto) diets, I never really considered the Indo Trinidadian experience.  I had noticed that a fair number of roti shops in Toronto seemed to be owned by people of South Asian descent who also seemed to have come to Canada from the Caribbean.  That's where it kind of stopped (shame on me, I suppose).

It was this setting that prompted me to read The Swinging Bridge.  In it, Espinet's central character, Mona, feels disconnected from a lot of things, calling herself a 'nowarian'.  She doesn't feel rooted in her Canadian life in Montreal, but she also understands why her family left Trinidad (during a period in which Indo-Trinidadians were marginalized).  The strength of the book lies in its exploration of the experience of Indo Trinidadians (and women in particular), first as indentured labourers then as Trinidadians who don't quite fit the newly independent (in 1962) nation's vision of itself that is most interesting.  At least that is the way Mona, the main character, describes it.

The weakness in the book is twofold.  First, the disjointed nature of the storytelling makes it hard to really engage with the book.  Second, Espinet's main character isn't particularly likeable.  She isn't 'nice' to anyone and seems wrapped up entirely in her own experience.  Even the death of her brother seems to remind her most about the difficulties in her own life.

In short, the best part of the book is the questions about the experience of Indo-Trinidadians that the book raised.  In fact, if it weren't for those, I would have likely stopped reading (something I rarely do).  But you have to give credit to a book that makes you want to go out and learn more.  For that, I am thankful.