This was chosen by our book group - and proved a challenging but rewarding read, It could be described as a coming of age novel and the protagonist grows up amongst a fascinating group of women, whose men come and, increasingly go. It conveys a strong sense of place, the island of Grenada, and weaves Christianity, voodoo and politics together. I enjoyed it enormously. ( )

Vivid depiction of life in Grenada,, 27 January 2016

This review is from: Pynter Bender (Kindle Edition)
Novel following our eponymous hero through his youth on the Caribbean isle of Grenada.
Brought up in a large extended - and predominantly female - family, the reader is introduced to strands of madness, illegitimacy and fathers who walk out on their responsibilities. Jacob Ross uses local patois to add flavour to the book, as he tells of folk medicine, family secrets and - later on - uprisings against the state, and violent retributions, all set against the cane fields and rich forests.
Although this is a coming-of-age tale, I found it very different to the many other such works I've read. Ross writes in a style all of his own, the narrative driven by conversation and action rather than getting in the characters' heads and dwelling on their feelings.
Perhaps because of that fact, I found it lacked a little something for me ...but it certainly is a feat of writing. ( )

Pynter Bender by Jacob Ross is a coming-of-age story set in the cane fields of Grenada. Although born blind, his eyes are healed by a village mystic when he is ten and he becomes acutely aware of the beauty around him. He is raised mostly by women as the one constant in his life is that the men leave. With a life of back-breaking work in the cane fields for 94 cents a day, it isn’t surprising that most men slip away looking for something different. The women that form Pynter’s family are a close knit group of aunts and cousins, but it is when his uncle Birdie returns home after one of his spells in prison that Pynter begins to understand that there is a world beyond these women and the cane fields. Pynter lives in turbulent times and when he finds himself fleeing marauding soldiers and hiding in the canes it brings him to the realization that he can no longer ignore the violence that is happening on his beloved island and he may have to become another man who leaves.

Parallel to Pynter’s story this is also the story of Grenada. Originally a French colony, it was captured by the British in 1763 and held as a British Colony until 1974. Pynter Bender is set during the 1960’s, pre-independence. This was a time of unrest and uncertainty as islanders were struggling within the confines of virtual serfdom. This was a time, when in order to control the population, curfews were set and people who broke the curfew were shot.

Rather than a straight forward novel, this story is told in a series of stories and personally I found it rather difficult to follow. It took me half the book to work out the relationships between the many characters. Another thing I found confusing was that some characters who seemed of importance would just disappear off the pages while new characters were constantly being introduced. The author does tell his story beautifully but unfortunately I found it felt awkward and disjointed. ( )