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What A Mother's Love Don't Teach You: 'An outstanding debut' Cherie Jones
Sharma Taylor
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'AN OUTSTANDING DEBUT' CHERIE JONES, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House
'VIVID AND AUTHENTIC' LEONE ROSS, author of This One Sky Day
At eighteen years old, Dinah gave away her baby son to the rich couple she worked for before they left Jamaica. They never returned. She never forgot him.
Eighteen years later, a young man comes from the US to Kingston. From the moment she sees him, Dinah never doubts - this is her son.
What happens next will make everyone question what they know and where they belong.
A powerful story of belonging, identity and inheritance, What a Mother's Love Don't Teach You brings together a blazing chorus of voices to evoke Jamaica's ghetto, dance halls, criminal underworld and corrupt politics, at the beating heart of which is a mother's unshakeable love for her son.
'TAKES US ON A WONDERFUL MULTIFACETED JOURNEY THORUGH THE LIVES, LOVES, PLEASURES AND ATROCITIES OF THE FOLKS OF KINGSTON' JACOB ROSS, author of The Bone Readers
'A PROPULSIVE AND BREATHTAKING STORY' MAISY CARD, author of These Ghosts are Family'A GRIPPING PAGE-TURNER' CAMILLE HERNANDEZ-RAMDWAR, author of Suite as Sugar and Other Stories'AN EXCITING READ' YEWANDE OMOTOSO, author of An Unusual Grief
'A WONDERFUL DEBUT NOVEL' GILLIAN ROYES, author of the Shad series
'TAYLOR'S GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT IS HOW SHE CAPTURES THE DARKNESS OF THE GHETTO WHILE NEVER DIMMING THE VIVACITY, DETERMINATION AND EXUBERANCE DISPLAYED BY ITS PEOPLE. THIS IS A THRILLING READ' CELESTE MOHAMMED, author of Pleasantview
Read MorePraise for What A Mother's Love Don't Teach You: 'An outstanding debut' Cherie Jones
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Pulses with the colour and cadence of Jamaican culture in a multi-layered story told with empathy and intelligence. It is both an elegy of great elegance and a testament to the resilience and optimism of Jamaican people. Sharma's skilled storytelling drew me into the heads and hearts of the residents of Jacks Hill and Lazarus Gardens and did not let me go. I'll never forget this cast of characters or the voice of this accomplished writer - an outstanding debut.' - Cherie Jones, author of How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her HouseTruth-telling! Taylor's debut is tender, violent and uncompromising in turns. A vivid and authentic Jamaica that tells a tale too often hidden, for fantasies of sun, sea and sand. - Leone Ross, author of This One Sky DayA sharp polyphonous story in which Taylor skillfully moves the reader through a world pulsing with pain, love, power, violence and tenderness. We are reminded of that tension between where we come from and what we gravitate towards, what steers us and why. An exciting read. - Yewande Omotoso, author of An Unusual GriefSharma Taylor's debut novel What A Mother's Love Don't Teach You is a brilliant examination of lives in Jamaica. Taylor writes powerfully about those lives, trapped in often distressing social circumstances, with wit and a searingly analytical eye. Always, though, her empathy with the characters comes through, so the reader is ensnared by her artistry and is willing to seek to understand each character, no matter how superficially evil. The true power of the work comes from its thorough grounding in the Jamaican experience, the cascade of similes that enlighten and the descriptions of the physical landscapes. All of these combine to create an impression on the reader that is not only visual but profoundly emotional. An extraordinary first novel - Ronald A. Williams, author of A Death in PanamaA cacophonic, alive, heart-breaking story of a particular place and time, made universal by its truths and wisdom about love. - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The MerciesAn arresting first novel. As if to nod to the Jamaican national motto "Out of Many One People," Taylor's novel gives voice to multiple perspectives on how class, race and gender are lived in this "exotic" Caribbean island and at what cost to human relationships. - Lisa Allen-Agostini, author of the Woman's Prize longlisted The Bread the Devil Knead
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