Part of Peepal Tree’s Caribbean Modern Classics series, Black Lightning is the third and final novel by Roger Mais, originally published in 1955, the year of his death.
Set in the Jamaican countryside, it follows the story of Jack, a sculptor and blacksmith who idolises the biblical Samson as a figure of man’s independence.
Setting out to carve a tribute to Samson in mahogany, Jack is soon beset by the break-up of hismarriage, and a lightning strike that leaves him blind. What follows is a heart-rending tale of humanity, of finding one’s way, and of friendship in adversity.
Roger Mais was born in Kingston, Jamaica. His 1944 critique of Churchill’s imperialist ideology, Now We Know, saw him sentenced to six months in prison for sedition. His other novels are The Hills Were Joyful Together (1951), brought back into print by Peepal Tree in 2012 (ISBN 9781845231002), and Brother Man (1954), published by Macmillan Caribbean Writers in 2004 (ISBN 9781405062961). He was posthumously awarded the Order of Jamaica in 1978.