When she takes up a job as a reporter in Georgetown, Guyana, Sandra Yansen must leave the close ties of family and village behind. The city she finds is riven by racial conflict and political turbulence.
Through its beautifully written, rich narrative, Timepiece explores the tensions between personal and political integrity in a society where people ‘break up the ground under each other’s feet’. There is also sensitive reflection on the status of women in Guyanese society, as Sandra is forced to find her way through the male-dominated world of the newspaper office, a far cry from the matriarchy and communal strength of home.
Jan Lowe Shinebourne was born in Guyana. In 1970 she moved to London, where she lived for almost 40 years. She began writing in the mid-1960s, and is the author of two other novels, The Last English Plantation (1999) and Chinese Women (2010), and a collection of short fiction, The Godmother and Other Stories (2004), all published by Peepal Tree. She now lives in Sussex.