One People
First published in 1997, it would be hard to find a publisher today for a white, male expatriate writing about the realities of life in a Jamaican hamlet.
To make matters worse, Guy Kennaway wrote One People in the local patois. But this comic novel – sparkling with irreverent wit– is cherished in Jamaica where it is recognised for its 'humour and humanity' and as a mirror which reflects the essence of the island, where 'culture is something that comes from the ground up and good times do not require a whole heap o' money.' Guy Kennaway's novel about Jamaican life and culture is set in the fictional village of Angel Beach. It is an affectionate and hilarious description of a small community where everyone knows everyone's business, poverty is a way of life, and dreams of escape trickle through fingers.
‘If you’ve ever seen the universe in an ear of corn, you should read One People, and if you haven’t, don’t worry, you will.’ – Damian Hirst
‘Lyrical, poignant and downright funny...’ – The Herald and Tribune, Jamaica
Guy Kennaway is a writer of fiction and memoir. He is best known for his novels One People, about village life in Jamaica, Bird Brain, about a bunch of optimistic pheasants, and for his memoir Time to Go about killing his mother (with her permission.). His most recent novel, The Accidental Collector, won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction in 2021. His most recent memoir is Foot Notes, a broad comedy about race and nationality which he wrote with his relative Hussein Sharif.
