Stephen Kimber (1) (1949–)

Eli Cooper, a confirmed bachelor in his mid-fifties, a stick-in-the-mud type who dislikes change and disruption, has lived an unexciting, emotionally unfulfilled life. For several years he has been caring for his father—a dementia sufferer—at home, against the advice of doctors and his sister Sarah, who believes their father belongs in a care facility. In February 2008, Eli’s thirty-year career as an editor at the Halifax Tribune comes to an end when the parent company shuts down the newspaper. But even worse, on that same day, Eli’s father dies. Suddenly alone, pressed awkwardly and unwillingly into retirement mode, racked with guilt over his father’s death, Eli accepts Sarah’s gift of an all-expenses-paid vacation in Cuba. Growing bored at the resort that Sarah has booked him into, he arranges a taxi ride to Havana and falls in with a welcoming and garrulous group of Cubans that includes Mariela, a beautiful thirty-something tour guide. Enchanted by her emerald green eyes, drawn in by her enigmatic air of melancholy, Eli soon finds himself falling in love. Spurred along by emotions long dormant, he declares himself. But Eli is not naïve and knows he must proceed with caution. He doesn’t want to become that clichéd butt of jokes: the lonely, middle-aged man seduced by a much younger women from a poor country who feigns affection in order to secure a better life for herself. Stephen Kimber’s novel proceeds at a measured pace as Eli, back home in Halifax, considers his options and slowly emerges from an emotional cocoon of his own making. Both Eli and Mariela are dealing with ghosts from the past—ghosts that refuse to be ignored and make themselves felt tangibly in the present—and near the end of the book, the story takes on characteristics of a quest as Eli and Mariela join forces to hunt down a truth that has the power to set them both free. The Sweetness in the Lime is a quietly powerful novel—poignant with the sorrow of great loss, uplifting with the joy of discovery. It is also a novel that often takes the reader by surprise. Kimber’s extensive research on Cuba, the land and the culture, is seamlessly incorporated, bringing the Havana scenes vividly to life but never getting in the way. Narrated in Eli’s breezy vernacular, this very human story moves convincingly through stages of pain and grief toward a sort of reconciliation, as Eli and Mariela find solace and strength in each other and the prospect of building a future together. The tale of Eli Cooper’s gradual awakening into a more complete life reminds us that, though the path to happiness is strewn with obstacles, and though you often can’t see what’s around the next corner, setting out on the journey is sometimes a risk worth taking.… (meer)

Reparations by Stephen Kimber tells the fictional story of what happened to the residents of Africville, the black community on the edge of Halifax, after the city of Halifax destroyed their home in the 1960’s. At the heart of the story is a friendship between Raymond Carter, a resident of Africville, and Ward Justice, a fisherman’s son. Ward’s father, Desmond, initiated a strike against his employers because of the unfair working conditions. After many months on the picket line, the employers agreed to hire everyone back, everyone except Desmond Justice. Desmond and his family moved to Halifax in the middle of the school year. Ward and Ray met on Ward’s first day at his new school when a group of black boys attacked Ward and Ray stopped the fight. After that day, Ward and Ray were inseparable although Desmond did not want Ward to hang around with “coloureds”. Ward enjoyed going to Ray’s home in Africville which reminded him of the fishing village where he was born. The friendship did not survive the high school years however. Ward was placed in C-3 in tenth grade. There were no black students in C-3 whereas half the students in C-17, Ray’s homeroom, were black. The students in C-3 were expected to go to university after high school. When Ray went to the guidance counsellor in Grade 11 to enquire about getting into university he was informed that he was in the general stream and he had no chance of being admitted to university.

Fast forward to the year 2002. Uhuru Kwacha, the former Raymond Carter, is a lawyer standing in the courtroom of Ward Justice. His client is a bookkeeper for the City of Halifax charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Uhuru tells Mr. Justice Justice that his client is pleading not guilty and defends his actions because he used the money to benefit former residents of Africville and their descendents. Uhuru knows he is on very shaky legal ground and, in fact, he is really making up his argument on the fly. The judge is very short with him and denies bail for his client. Two years later when the trial starts Uhuru is leading a defense team that includes a black female law professor and a white former law professor with considerable courtroom experience. Ward Justice is the trial judge. The shared history, as well as their separate experiences in the intervening years, of the two men underpins the court case.

Reparations is a masterful account of the experiences of blacks in modern Nova Scotia. Kimber shows how pervasive racism was in the 1960’s and beyond but he also shows that success was possible for some in the black community. The black characters are believable because they have failings as well as virtues.

As for the white characters in the book, they seem more universally venal. The head of the fishing company is particularly malevolent and his buddy who mentors Ward through law school and into politics is a nasty piece of work too. Ward is not evil per se but he is easily led and wants to please everyone. Mind you, by the end of the book, I admired him but only because he finally took a stand.

Race relations is the main theme of the book but additional information about the fishing industry, politics and the media certainly rounded out the book. Kimber deserves praise for dealing with many difficult issues and at the same time writing an interesting story.… (meer)