The Humming-Bird Tree

by Ian McDonald

Book Overview

Alan was too young to understand why his parents preferred him to play with the other white boys on the estate. But gradually, he learned that if he was going to meet Kaiser and Jaillin, he had to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0435985752
• ISBN13: 9780435985752
• Release Date: June 1992
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 181 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A coming-of-age book

Set in Trinidad in the earlier half of the nineteenth century, this book brings out many of the joys and ills that are embedded in human nature and in human existence. a young East Indian girl falls in love with the son of her caucasian employers. Innocent in their affections for each other, these two children embark on a journey of new discoveries in nature, and in the process discover the purity that is within themselves. However, these children also soon realize that this purity is blanketed by evil that is beyond their control, when this little girl released from her duties because they are caught displaying their affections. Meeting each other years later, the realization sinks in that their daily lives extend greatly beyond their love for one another. This book not only brings out the harsh realities of class structure, but projects the instruments that keep those harsh conditions intact.