He Drown She in the Sea

by Shani Mootoo

Set on the fictional Caribbean island of Guanagaspar around the time of the Second World War, and in modern-day Vancouver, He Drown She in the Sea, fulfills the promise of Shani Mootoo’s internationally acclaimed debut novel, Cereus Blooms at Night.

At the centre of the story is Harry St. George, the son of a laundress, and the unrequited love he bears for a woman, Rose, the daughter of a wealthy man, whom he knew as a child. Looking back to his past, evoking the rich culture and texture of his Caribbean boyhood, and the life of his mother, Dolly, Harry reveals his friendship with Rose, and the events that will continue to haunt him across time and place. When Rose arrives suddenly in Vancouver, where Harry has built a hard-earned life for himself, the two embark on an impossible affair that will have tragic consequences.

He Drown She in the Sea is a vividly evoked, subtly described story of love, class division, and the unrelenting hold of the past, told by one of our most gifted writers. Shani Mootoo joins the front ranks of Carribean literature, in the company of Austin Clarke and Dionne Brand.

From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Novels

336 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2005

About the author

Shani Mootoo, writer, visual artist and video maker, was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1957 to Trinidadian parents. She grew up in Trinidad and relocated at age 24 to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She currently lives in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Tiara Chutkhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

He Drown She in the Sea was amazing in so many ways. I personally love books with such intricate plots, twists and back stories and this book had it all. I also enjoyed the commentary it provided on the times—there were many points that referenced the relationship between Indo and Afro-Caribbeans, the role/treatment of women and societal structure.

The novel takes place on the island of Guanagaspar and follows Harry St. George, the son of a laundress who works for the well off Mrs. Sangha. Harry grows up being close friends with Mrs. Sangha's daughter Rose, and looks forward to the Saturdays in the city where he plays while his mother works. As the two grow older, their roles in society are clearly defined— Rose is a high society woman while Harry is a working class business man. After years a part and a few brief encounters, Harry reluctantly moves on, relocating to Vancouver to avoid the racial conflicts erupting on the island. When years later Harry and Rose reconnect in Vancouver, years of denying their feelings results in a life changing affair.

Shani's writing is extremely detailed and paints such vivid pictures. I'm always a fan of a book that can create such vivid imagery in my mind. I also enjoyed the Caribbean dialect as it made the characters feel even more authentic for me.

I also didn't see the twist at the end coming— I wish there might have been one more chapter to elaborate. Nonetheless, a well-crafted and compelling read and I'm looking forward to the rest of Shani's books I've picked up!

[Vaidehi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as Cereus Blooms at Night, but confronts racial tensions in the Caribbean more vividly. The fictional island of Guanagaspar seemed pretty telling of the history and political climate of Trinidad during World War II and later into postcolonial Trindad's Black Power movement. All of this alluded-to history was an interesting backdrop for a fictional story to unfold, centered more intimately on class divides on the island.

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This would have been a fine first draft for a novel. As it is, though, it should not have been published. I was never pulled in to the fictive dream because Ms. Mootoo never created one. She did, however, rely on dream sequences to begin and end her book, a sign of unbelievable laziness. And after my initial misgivings, things only got worse. Terrible dialect; I don't care if you're from Trinidad and you want to indicate that your characters don't speak standard British--there are subtler ways to get at that. Throwing in "exotic" names for plants and animals do not a fictional island describe. Severe problems with tense and usage of time. Scenes that the reader should have been present to witness are told in retrospect from one character to another. And the characters have no depth. I tried to give Ms. Mootoo the benefit of the doubt time and again, yet any faith in her to wrap up this story well would have been misplaced.

Amateur attempt. Not worth reading.

[Shivanee Ramlochan · Rating 3 out of 5]

No book of Shani Mootoo's has ever quite compared to the smouldering brilliance of 'Cereus Blooms At Night', and 'He Drown She in the Sea' is no exception. Despite that, Mootoo's storytelling talent has not diminished with this offering. Her places are authentically constructed; the voices of her characters are vivid and well-sustained.

[dikshya · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh wow

[sves yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

plot is slow at the beginning and jumped too quickly to the past for the background, I just felt like the plot was based in longing and nostalgia of the past, the kind of feelings that I have had in the past with people that were just never emotionally there and although the two characters come together in the end, it is not something that I cherish in a relationship. why wait for someone? although rose's abusive husbands behavior comes to light in the end and in the beginning there are definitely a whole bunch of red flags with Mr. Sangha, I just wish there was another thread that wrapped the story all together. the most exciting part of the book was harry returning to the island and trying to figure out the puzzle rose had left. I wonder what that story would have been told if this puzzle was in the beginning.

there was obvious class and racial divides present in the story that divided the characters. I wished that the relationships between the Indians and the black people on the island was not solely rooted in anti-black descriptions of the relationships of black folks and Indian people on the island. it just felt like repeating the same lines of colorism. I wanted more complex writing about relationships to black and indigenous folks on the island, more than just added token characters that frame Harry's life but do not build their lives alongside.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The dark skin of the driver of the car in which he travels, of the people they pass, the lanky coconut trees arching here and there to the thin blue sky, the iridescent haze of heat trembling off the spongy asphalt of the road, all have the power of a moon over him, stroking and pulling at the blood in his veins."

Don't they say that it takes reading and loving three books by an author before you can call them a favorite? Well Shani Mootoo is absolutely a favorite. (I've also loved Cereus Blooms at Night and Polar Vortex.)

He Drown She in the Sea: Harry St. George is raised by a single mom on the fictional island of Guanagaspar during WWII. He becomes friends with Rose, the daughter of the rich woman who's house his mother cleans. Years later as an adult living in Vancouver, he sees Rose again. This is a beautifully descriptive story about class, race, colonialism, and male dominance. The characters are complex and must face many obstacles. At times the book was slow and thoughtful and other times it was tensely paced like a thriller.

[Valerie Proctor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is the kind of novel I like to read! Shani Mootoo is a great novelist. She catches dialogue and local accent very well but without wearing out the reader. Her main character, Harry, a middle –aged man is portrayed sympathetically, in-depth from his childhood as a poor servant’s son into the present as a garden designer in Vancouver. From the very beginning, because of the title, I was worried about who drown whom! I promise you, it was a surprise ending... Unfortunately, the ending although a complete surprise, let me down... maybe because I didn’t belief it was possible... too contrived...

[Rachelfm · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot was there. But I couldn't be bothered to care about these characters and I found the Trinidadian dialect really distracting. I felt like none of these characters has their own voice nor created reasons for us to care about them.

[Rena Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mootoo's language in this novel is like a soft ocean breeze. Nothing that startles but something you want more of. I found the story engrossing in that the mix of races and times and stations of life were so well portrayed and so believable. Nothing overplayed, just subtle depictions one could easily relate to. The Rose character could have used more color and shade however. I found her to be a bit too enigmatic. Why was Harry so driven toward her? That could have been more layered, more emotionally explicit as it honed in on Rose a bit more. The ending for me was a welcome surprise but it left me wondering about Harry's father and if he'd made the same voyage. Perhaps that mystery was meant to never be solved for the reader, just as it was never meant to be solved by those left behind.

[Sheena Mayers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The need for an escape from my current circumstance has been so strong. Every day at lunch or in my bed after work I would gravitate towards this book. Mootoo paints such a vivid picture of this fictional Caribbean island it’s as if I’ve been there. The different voices of the many characters were so real. The story, which in fact is many stories beautifully intertwined, is one of those that resonates in a way I can’t explain. Halfway through the book I forgot about anyone drowning in the sea. I drowned in this narrative 💕

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters were interesting, the story unravelled slowly, and the ending was great. Hard to believe Harry waited all those years.

[Lea Gallardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book four stars because it had a very good, compelling story and was written beautifully. The ending, however, just didn't fit.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, I was late for work because I had to finish this book. The narrative jumps between Canada and the island of Guanagaspar, focusing in turn on Harry and Rose, childhood sweethearts who are separated by issues of class and propriety and returned to each other in their later years. Harry and Rose's history is delivered in an achronous fashion, so that moments from their childhoods are bumped up against recollections of a summer past, and again against memories of their estranged adolescences. Everything comes together at the end of the book, which takes place in the present and bridges the Guanagasparian communities both abroad and on the island, and will make you miss work if you haven't timed your reading right.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I definitely wasn't as into it as Cereus Blooms at Night, but it was still good.

If you plan on reading this book, pay attention to Part I (three parts to this book). I found that when I got to Part III I was in a haze because the story line picked back up from Part I. Part II was a little boring, but towards the end, everything made sense. Definitely a good book.

Full review on my blog: http://book_worm_chick.xanga.com

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, so great. Written by a Trinidadian author who has spent a lot of time in North America -- so it feels very familiar to me.

Update: Not bad. The ending was a bit unbelievable and contrived, but still, a good book. Would recommend it to any of my Caribbean friends, or anyone interested in learning about life in the Caribbean.

[Tiffa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having really loved the Cereus Blooms, I hoped to love this. I did not. At all. It takes place very close to where I live, and it was vaguely nice to read descriptions of our coast. The plot, sadly, was quite shockingly bad, with one of the weakest endings I've read in a very long time. Shame.

[Alina Fabozzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books I read in college. I really enjoyed the imagery, the Indian culture on the islands and the smooth transitions between time and space.

It's not too long and perfect for a week of magical reading.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

set in the carribean, this book explored themes of race and class in an unusual setting.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love story about two childhood friends who were separated by class on a Carribean island. He relocates to Vancouver, where they re-meet as adults. Entertaining, sweet.

[Itisme]

read free pre release copy for a book festival

[Joanne]

Excellent read - I will look for Shani's earlier book.

[Khrys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Shani! There were many a time I was like "ooohh gooooddeee!" Classic trini response to comesse. And the ENDING!!! Good book, though a bit wordy and overly descriptive.

[Rachel Lichtman Castaño · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing amazing amazing

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story took a turn I really didn't expect in the last section, but in the end I loved it.

[The Book Gawdess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was worried when I started this book because some of the reviews I saw on Goodreads weren’t very complimentary. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
Let me make it clear that I’m not a fan of romances / dramas. Give me a Stephen King over Nora Roberts anyday.
He Drown She In The Sea was exactly that and it matched the description perfectly. It was a prime example of that cliche: ‘love conquers all.’
This book tells the story of two star-crossed lovers torn apart by class boundaries. It’s written in both the World War era and the present one (the book was published in 2005). There was some racial tension in this book. Africans warring with Indians. Whites fighting with Africans. Ironically enough, even today this racism still exists worldwide. I can’t tell you what happens in the end because that will spoil the surprise. However, I will say it seemed a bit operatic for my taste. Maybe it’ll suit the seasoned romance reader’s palate.
As usual, Shani Mootoo has a flair for descriptive writing. She made you feel as if you were one of the people waiting for Seudath to come back home that fateful day. In some places, however, the descriptions became quite wordy and a bit tedious.
This second novel was not as enjoyable to me as her first but it was still a decent read.