This is an intoxicating tale of love and wonder, mothers and daughters, spiritua
l values and the grim legacy of slavery on the French Antillean island of Guadel
oupe. Here long-suffering Telumee tells her life story and tells us about the pr
oud line of Lougandor women she continues to draw strength from. Time flows unev
enly during the long hot blue days as the madness of the island swirls around th
e villages, and Telumee, raised in the shelter of wide skirts, must learn how to
navigate the adversities of a peasant community, the ecstasies of love, and dom
estic realities while arriving at her own precious happiness. In the words of To
ussine, the wise, tender grandmother who raises her, "Behind one pain there is a
nother. Sorrow is a wave without end. But the horse mustn't ride you, you must r
ide it."
