What do you think?
Rate this book
Nor Any Country
Nor Any Country, first published in 1968, is a profound and elegantly written exploration of the complexities of individual moral choice and an acutely insightful study of a society in the process of change. Education has taken Peter Breville away from his native St Lucia for the past eight years. Now, appointed to a university post in Jamaica, he decides he must see his family on his way from England. There is his mother, whom he loves, his father with whom he has never got on, and his brother, with whom boyhood competition turned sour. And there is Phyllis, his wife, who, through he has not once contacted her since he left, has waited patiently for his return, determined to be a wife to him. In the week he spends with his family and meeting old friends, he discovers a St Lucia that, in the early 1960s, is on the point of emerging into the modern capitalist world, but where the disparities between the new middle class and the impoverished black majority has become even wider. In the midst of this, he must decide what he owes Phyllis.
- GenresFiction
124 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1969
35 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 21, 2017
This novella is only 96 pages long, plus a laudatory 20-page essay about the work by one Jeremy Poynting. (I was puzzled by how a work no one had a word to say about on Goodreads could have the sort of academic following implied by this essay, until a Google search revealed that Poynting is its publisher.) The book follows its protagonist, Peter, as he returns to his unnamed island home (presumed by the publisher to be St. Omer’s home country of St. Lucia) for a brief visit after many years of study abroad.
Unfortunately, where Mr. Poynting saw subtle brilliance, the novella seemed to me mostly a mundane catalogue of Peter’s wandering about the island conversing with various people; his role in the conversations consists largely of creating a sense of his own superiority by saying little and smiling often. While visiting, he must decide what to do about the wife with whom he had no communication during his years abroad, but the narrative does little to show us how he arrives at his choice. Mostly Peter, while traveling about the island, simply ruminates on his European ex-girlfriends. There’s precious little narrative momentum in any of this, and little to interest the reader in the protagonist. Some of the supporting characters seem more interesting, but have limited room to breathe in such a short work.
As for the writing itself, it is adequate but sometimes lacking in clarity; numerous times I had to re-read passages to figure out what the author was trying to say. Written in the 1960s, the book seems to assume cultural understanding that a modern, non-Caribbean reader is unlikely to have: while racial politics are quite important in this setting, readers are left to deduce the race of almost all of the characters on their own (and I’m still not sure about Daphne).
All that said, this is a very short book that will leave readers somewhat more informed about the issues facing a society in a particular time and place. While the lack of clarity sometimes slows down the reading, large amounts of dialogue should keep readers from getting too bogged down.
Unfortunately, where Mr. Poynting saw subtle brilliance, the novella seemed to me mostly a mundane catalogue of Peter’s wandering about the island conversing with various people; his role in the conversations consists largely of creating a sense of his own superiority by saying little and smiling often. While visiting, he must decide what to do about the wife with whom he had no communication during his years abroad, but the narrative does little to show us how he arrives at his choice. Mostly Peter, while traveling about the island, simply ruminates on his European ex-girlfriends. There’s precious little narrative momentum in any of this, and little to interest the reader in the protagonist. Some of the supporting characters seem more interesting, but have limited room to breathe in such a short work.
As for the writing itself, it is adequate but sometimes lacking in clarity; numerous times I had to re-read passages to figure out what the author was trying to say. Written in the 1960s, the book seems to assume cultural understanding that a modern, non-Caribbean reader is unlikely to have: while racial politics are quite important in this setting, readers are left to deduce the race of almost all of the characters on their own (and I’m still not sure about Daphne).
All that said, this is a very short book that will leave readers somewhat more informed about the issues facing a society in a particular time and place. While the lack of clarity sometimes slows down the reading, large amounts of dialogue should keep readers from getting too bogged down.
October 20, 2021
Peter left his home in St. Lucia 8 years ago, leaving behind his pregnant wife and his family. When he returns for a week, the reader gets a glimpse into his interactions with his family, friends, and people that he grew up with. St. Omer explores how he reacts to others as he considers the lives of those who stayed and those who left and returned. One of my challenges in reading this (and it's a personal challenge, not an issue with the writing), is that I really didn't like Peter. His treatment and commentary on the women in his life was infuriating (he left a pregnant wife behind, didn't contact her for 8 years - not even when their twin children died) - -and it made me care less about how he felt about situations. One of the most interesting relationships explored in here was the one with his brother, Paul. At different points, they had each faced an identical expectation and had taken two different paths. I was intrigued by that divergence and the impact of their choices and thought the conversation between Peter and Paul was one of the most interesting moments in the book.
"'They think I'm mad.' Paul told him that evening on the verandah, still in his tie and his suit. 'All right. I encourage them to think so. I behave as if I am. Deliberately.' . . . 'This is the only world I can inhabit now, where they can only laugh and tolerate. I can never fail or disappoint now. Nobody expects anything of me. Not even myself.'"
"'They think I'm mad.' Paul told him that evening on the verandah, still in his tie and his suit. 'All right. I encourage them to think so. I behave as if I am. Deliberately.' . . . 'This is the only world I can inhabit now, where they can only laugh and tolerate. I can never fail or disappoint now. Nobody expects anything of me. Not even myself.'"
August 5, 2023
This is a fairly low-key story that's both about going home again and never going home. Peter, who has been away from his Saint Lucia home for eight years, studying in the UK, makes a short visit back for a week or two until he goes on to teach elsewhere. His parents, brother, old school friends, and his estranged wife await him, and really I'm only interested in two of those. Not long before he left, Peter got a girl pregnant, and he married her rather than lose his social standing. Their twin children were born and died while he was gone, and he's got no real interest in his wife, feeling that he's outgrown her; this is contrasted with his brother Paul, who also got a girl pregnant but refused to marry her. That torpedoed his life and lost him a career, and Paul is left as a very indifferent parent to a child he doesn't want after his ex-lover threw herself into the ocean.
It's all very literary, focused as it is on migration and social standing, and some of the character work is very good (although this is a short novel, with not a lot of space for development, so many of the characters are little more than sketches). When I say I'm only interested in two of the above relationships, however... it's a very mild interest. I can see that this book's well-written, but it's not really grabbing my attention. Perhaps I'd be more compelled if Phyllis were the main character, but then again she does come across as essentially static here, a sort of Penelope figure who does nothing but wait - and substantially more passively than the original - so perhaps not.
It's all very literary, focused as it is on migration and social standing, and some of the character work is very good (although this is a short novel, with not a lot of space for development, so many of the characters are little more than sketches). When I say I'm only interested in two of the above relationships, however... it's a very mild interest. I can see that this book's well-written, but it's not really grabbing my attention. Perhaps I'd be more compelled if Phyllis were the main character, but then again she does come across as essentially static here, a sort of Penelope figure who does nothing but wait - and substantially more passively than the original - so perhaps not.
October 11, 2021
With just about 95 pages of text, this novella tackles the story of an immigrant's return home and fuels the comparison of whether the choice to leave or to stay is best, a plot that is certainly interesting enough to justify more development. The main character is no one's hero even if his actions might've been understandable in real life, and all the supporting characters who make appearances, seem poised to make even bigger contributions if given the chance.
In Nor Any Country, the main guy is Peter, who has been abroad studying and working for 8 years, now returning to his home in an unnamed Caribbean country without notifying his family - his mother, father, wife, brother and nephew. All these are curious individuals whose brief appearances are richly described whetting the appetite for more revelations of their lives, not just their reactions to Peter. During Peter's one week visit, we also meet his former school mates and this sets up a comparison of the different trajectories for young people in the Caribbean - what opportunities exist when one remains in the home country and what are the sacrifices required to try to make it elsewhere.
Although the narrative isn't as detailed as one might like, St. Omer does touch on a lot of intriguing elements characteristic of regional literature. I'd recommend this book if you're looking for a quick read that introduces some of the conflicts facing emigrants from the Caribbean.
In Nor Any Country, the main guy is Peter, who has been abroad studying and working for 8 years, now returning to his home in an unnamed Caribbean country without notifying his family - his mother, father, wife, brother and nephew. All these are curious individuals whose brief appearances are richly described whetting the appetite for more revelations of their lives, not just their reactions to Peter. During Peter's one week visit, we also meet his former school mates and this sets up a comparison of the different trajectories for young people in the Caribbean - what opportunities exist when one remains in the home country and what are the sacrifices required to try to make it elsewhere.
Although the narrative isn't as detailed as one might like, St. Omer does touch on a lot of intriguing elements characteristic of regional literature. I'd recommend this book if you're looking for a quick read that introduces some of the conflicts facing emigrants from the Caribbean.
May 16, 2023
Country: Saint Lucia
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews