''The Swinging Bridge'' is a
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
by
Ramabai Espinet, published in 2003 by
HarperCollins Publishing. In 2004, the novel was short-listed for the
Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the category of Best First Book (Caribbean and Canada Region).
Espinet's novel focuses on a multi-generational
Indo-Trinidadian family living in Canada, touching on a number of themes and topics such as gender identity and matrilineal ties.
Ramabai Espinet is an Indo-Trinidadian author born in
San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1948. Since she originally migrated to Canada in the 1970s, Espinet has divided her time between the Caribbean and Canada. Espinet received her Ph.D. from the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
in
Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago after graduating from
York University in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently a professor at
Seneca College. Some of her other notable works besides ''The Swinging Bridge'' include ''Beyond the Kalapani'', ''The Princess of Spadina'', and ''Ninja's Carnival''.
[Budhu, Reshma]
"Ramabai Espinet: Section15.ca"
Ramabai Espinet :: Section15.ca. Section15.ca, 9 December 1997. Web. 20 April 2014.
Major themes
The major themes of the novel are:
*Silencing of history and its voices
*
Immigration
*Cultural, gender, and sexual oppression
*
Marginalization of
Indo-Caribbean
Indo-Caribbeans or Indian-Caribbeans are Indian people in the Caribbean who are descendants of the Jahaji Indian indentured laborers brought by the British, Dutch, and French during the colonial era from the mid-19th century to the early 20th c ...
families
*Historical archive with primary sources
*"Double Diaspora" — both the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora in North America (IE: Canada)
[''Diasporic (Dis)Locations: Indo-Caribbean Writers Negotiate the Kala Pani''. Kingston: University of West Indies Press. 2004.]
*Music, songwriting
* Feminism
Plot summary
Mona, a Trinidadian living in Montreal, is a film researcher whose family left Trinidad for Canada in hopes of finding a better life. At the start of her story, Mona gets word from her sister, Babs, that their brother, Kello, is dying. Kello tells his family that he is dying of lymphoma, but later reveals that he is actually dying from AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
. He reveals to his sisters that he is in a relationship with a man, but swears them to secrecy. As the oldest, Kello asks Mona to return to Trinidad after his death and buy the family land back. Mona is hesitant, but eventually learns that she was given this opportunity to discover more about her family history, their journey from India to Trinidad, and the hardships they had to face along the way.
Throughout the novel, Mona unveils the significance of the historical archive for the history of her family, women, and the greater Indo-Trinidadian culture over the course of several generations and migrations. She gives voice to the marginalized voices that were silenced by the past and even by her own people. Set in modern times, this novel interconnects the past to the present. As Mona discovers these hidden histories, she also comes to discover herself. The "Swinging Bridge" serves as a symbol of her life journey and the journey of her ancestors.
Historical context
* Kala pani (Espinet 4, 89)Cécile Fatiman
Cécile Fatiman (1771-1883), was a Haitian vodou priestess, a mambo. She is famous for her participation in the vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman, which is considered to be one of the starting points of the Haitian Revolution.
Early life and origi ...
-- Mambo priestess, influential in the beginnings of the Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...
*Calypso Music
Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...
*Chinese Immigration to the Caribbean
References
*Ramraj, Victor J
"Caribbean-Canadian literature in English"
''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature'', Oxford University Press, 1997. Oxford Reference. 2006. Date Accessed 15 Apr. 2014.
*Palmer, C. A. (2006). ''Eric Williams & the making of the modern Caribbean''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
*Allahar, A. (2001). ''Caribbean Charisma: Reflections on leadership, legitimacy, and populist politics''. Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers.
*Mehta, B. J. (2004). ''Diasporic (dis)locations: Indo-Caribbean women writers negotiate the kala pani''. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinging Bridge, The
2003 Canadian novels
HarperCollins books
Novels set in Montreal