Knopf Doubleday, Belletristik, The Final Passage (Englisch, Caryl Phillips, 1999)

From the British-West Indian novelist who is rapidly emerging as the bard of the African diaspora comes a haunting work about &ldquo the final passage&rdquo &mdash the exodus of black West Indians from their impoverished islands to the uncertain opportunities of England. In her village of St. Patrick&rsquo s, Leila Preston has no prospects, a young son, and a husband, Michael, who seems to prefer the company of his mistress. So when her ailing mother travels to England for medical care, Leila decides to follow her. As Caryl Phillips follows the Prestons&rsquo outward voyage&mdash and their bewildered attempt to find a home in a country whose rooming houses post signs announcing &ldquo No vacancies for coloureds&rdquo &mdash he produces a tragicomic portrait of hope and dislocation. The Final Passage is a novel rich in language, acute in its grasp of character, and unforgettable in its vision of the colonial legacy. &ldquo Like Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcí a Má rquez, Phillips writes of times so heady and chaotic and of characters so compelling that time moves as if guided by the moon and dreams.&rdquo &mdash Los Angeles Times Book Review.