This collection of short stories travels from the lush hills and sunny beaches of Jamaica to London, New York and Calcutta, following the hearts and desires of Caribbean people in search of love and the means to make a life in unfamiliar places.
In the title story, a Jamaican youth hustles a living as an escort to European and American tourists. In ‘Fevergrass Tea’ a young woman returns from New York to her hometown in Jamaica, to find that the rules of class and romance have very much changed. In ‘Elephant Dreams’, Black Londoner Jewel’s dreams of riding an elephant lead her to India, where her lover Arjun will introduce her to his family. In ‘Precious and her Hair’, a young girl goes to extremes to attract the local Romeo. Together the stories are funny, romantic, vivid and moving in their insight into lives of self-discovery, and self-deception.
Ifeona Fulani is the author of Seasons of Dust (1997) and Archipelagos of Sound: Transnational Caribbeanities, Women and Music (forthcoming). She has also written a children’s story, Visitors, and a screenplay based on a novel by James Baldwin, On Beale Street. She has had short stories published in the Beacon’s Best anthology series, in Small Axe, and in Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noir. She currently teaches Writing at New York University.