Bøger af Beresford McLean

Rooted in Jamaican folklore and African mythology, Providence Pond by novelist Beresford McLean is a remarkable tale depicting British attempts to influence ancient African customs in the process of reshaping Providence, Jamaica. Engaging the reader with its exceptionally well written and quite unique perspective, Providence Pond draws upon the communal Jamaican lifestyle centered in the African mores of Kumina wisdom and the everyday experiences of the Jamaican natives as their family concepts of love, truth, and hope are all threatened by the largely British-dominant society. Highly entertaining, Providence Pond is very strongly recommended reading and a welcome addition to any community library fiction collection. Bitter conflict and raw excitement abound as deep religious and political fervor divide and set ablaze the Caribbean community of Providence Pond, a former British slave holding in the futile valleys of western St. Mary, Jamaica. As this community struggles for life and definition following the passing of slavery, the imperative - which native religion, political ideology, or vestige of British thinking will prevail to lead the nascent community - must be resolved. During slavery the answer was clear: British thought must prevail. The eventual collapse of the strong, central British control gave rise to African traditions that were long kept semi-dormant in the distant backlands of huge slave plantation. Various factions - African, Indian, and British - vie for social and political dominance. The momentous events of Providence Pond are staged above the backdrop of the still larger conflict of World War 1. In Providence Pond there is first a triangular grouping derived from remnants of Ashanti, Congo and, British elements locked in the struggle to define the "only way." As the country forges along and the conflict in Providence Pond escalates, Congo King the leader of the forbidden Kumina sect, finds himself pitted in impending battle against the ad hoc Ashanti-Christian coalition - lead by the Anglican Reverend, Bernard Watkins. The torch is set! McLean's Providence Pond is a tale of wisdom and deep socio-political insight. It offers a fresh opportunity - yet another way of looking at our own modern conditions: to reevaluate past credence and prejudices - and finding new ways of courageously living old concepts.

Broken Gourds is inspirational folklore. Written in the tradition of Steinbeck's Cannery Row, this inspirational folklore is a story of humanity mirrored in the events of one small farming village of Jamaica. In the story, the author considers the role of the intuitive mind in the form of a lowly healer whose mission is to empower the oppressed while fostering harmony and hope. As the story develops, his success attracts the temptations . . . greed, hate, lust, and jealousy . . . that power positions bring. These he must struggle to overcome. Broken Gourds is an inspirational folklore of change and permanence, love and hate, peace and pestilence. It is, indeed, a story of life. Those very elements, which rocked that multi-ethnic community a century ago, are still at the very core of all society, of life, today.

Jamaican Book of Proverbs is a compilation of beliefs or colloquial sayings rendered first in Patwah, the local vernacular, and then translated into English. The Essence of each proverb is given “as well as a general Contextual explanation underlining the proverb’s comedic, applicable, and profound underpinnings.”Take-aways, highlighted as Contemplations are also presented. The book’s subtitle: 365 Daily Devotional Proverbs with Translations and Contextual Interpretations provides one primary intent of the book: an everyday reading guide for families, groups, or individuals at all reading levels. “Additional proverbs, given as Brata Proverbs, may be read at any time for entertainment or to further quench the thirst for universal truth and a higher sense of the expanding self.” About the Author and Playwright:Beresford McLean was born in western St. Mary, Jamaica. He attended and taught high school in Kingston. In 1970 McLean emigrated to the United States where he studied physics and subsequently worked in engineering. His current focus is writing. Broken Gourds, his first inspirational folklore, was published to great acclaim in 2003. His second novel, Providence Pond, came three years later. Jamaican Book of Proverbs – a daily mediational guide based on Jamaican aphorisms - was published in the spring of 2018. McLean’s third novel, a historical perspective on pre-independent Jamaica: Fish Hook River will be published in the fall of 2018. Beresford McLean’s foray into playwriting is his shot play, First Snow. His first full length play The Good Villain will be released in fall 2018.