Summary of the book “Annie John”By: Jamaica Kinkaid.
This book is a book of reality, a book of self-discovery. This is a book that you read and as you are reading it you can identify with the character, what he/she does and how she/he reacts to happenings around her/him. The story is set in and around the Dominican Republic, around the 1950-60’s. The main character in this book is Annie John, she is a black girl in a English ruled and own colony. She is a smart tall girl of an inquisitive nature. She has always been smart in school, but her more “wild” side has always driven her towards yearning other experiences.
She is a slightly conceded girl and always wants to be the best in her circle of friends and in school. She enjoys being the center of attention and does everything she can to achieve this. She has changing relationships with a couple of girls throughout the book and we can see how those relationships change her, and also change themselves as her character matures. Annie’s relationship with her mother is a main point of the whole book.
We follow the relationship going from being a admiring and respectful mother-daughter relationship to becoming a hatred and dreaded “black creature”. Many of Annie’s thoughts are quite reflective on the way she was raised and where she was raised. Many if the characteristics also are easy to find within our selves. I find this book to be an easy read book about universal truths, knowledge, and experiences that most of us have already experienced or if not, should experience. Annie John is a definite must on a list of leisure and fun books to read.
