White Woman on the Green Bicycle, The
Roffey, MoniqueEnglish newlyweds George and Sabina Harwood, starting married life in 1950s Trinidad, hit their first snag: George loves the place, Sabine does not. The marriage survives, but what follows is fifty years of endurance and adjustment to life as expatriates. Their story is played out amidst the tropical splendour where racial tension, poverty and corruption rear their ugly heads, revealing the political history and growth of a nation moving beyond its colonial past.
Comments from Groups
Hard to get into but well worth it once you made the effort. Palmerston North 006Very moving but tragic story - lots of interesting factual political events. Well written. Good discussion on how people cope in countries where they are not welcome - especially ex British colonies! Christchurch 011Nobody liked the book. The broken timeline spoiled the book as too many threads went nowhere. Good discussions on this technique and on the negative effects of colonialism. Putaruru 001The majority liked the book a lot (apart from the order in which the story is told). They felt it was well written - depsite the occasionally tiring over-use of the vernacular, characters well described with an interesting socio-political background. Jervoistown 001Opinion was divided. I really enjoyed it as did two or three others but some of the group found the story difficult to handle beginning in 2006 and then mid way going back to 1956. Masterton 010
Pages
439
439
Year
2009
2009
Reviews
30-11-2023
We were mesmerised.Trinidad captivated us, as it did George and in turn Sabine, whose love/hate relationship mirrored the one she had with George. The brutal beginning did disturb us, however Roffey through her clever narrative structure needed to challenge us to consider the ramifications of colonialism, an on-going theme throughout the narrative. As for the end, we loved it. The white lady on the green bike like the Phoenix, rose from the ashes.
22-08-2022
Fascinating history about Trinidad and Tobago. Topsy-turvy way of writing, and the bicycle wasn't mentioned for ages.
14-01-2022
Interesting. A bit different. Beautiful imagery. Not all of us enjoyed it though. Some didn't like the way it was structured in two halves. Colonialism continues to have an impact.
14-01-2022
We enjoyed the book. Most of us had limited knowledge of Trinidad's people and politics, and found this very interesting. We thought the author's descriptions of place were evocative, and the placement of the two parts of the story unusual and effective.
14-01-2022
A shocking and disturbing read, albeit intriguing. An added dimension for this group was the lived experience of one member and her family, of several years in Trinidad during the period in which the book was written.
14-01-2022
We all really enjoyed the book once we got into it. Lots of discussion resulted.
14-01-2022
Great read. Well-written with strong female characters throughout the story. Was hard to put down as you wanted to know what happened next.
14-01-2022
We found the book had an inconclusive beginning and ending. A lot of reading for little outcome. However, some of our members quite liked it.
01-07-2021
Very mixed feelings about this book. Would have liked a better ending!
01-07-2021
Most loved the book. Some were indifferent. I loved what the writer had done. The end first then the beginning last. It made you wonder what happened to create this dichotomy.
01-07-2021
Gave us a good insight into an area we were unfamiliar about. An interesting look at the transition from colonialism to independence. Evoked the atmosphere, sight, smells of the country. A steamy romance between a man, a woman, and a country.
01-07-2021
Generally enjoyed.
01-07-2021
An unusual story which we all enjoyed, with many layers including love, politics, race and class.
01-07-2021
The group enjoyed reading about Trinidad and its history. Some were not convinced about the central plot.
01-07-2021
Most found the writing in dialect hard to read. A complex story - 2nd part was better because it filled in gaps. Interesting historically - we all looked up the history and politics of Trinidad of that time. Most felt the beginning was too violent, some did not get reading past that.
22-09-2019
Most of our group did not enjoy this book and thought it would have perhaps been a better story if it had started at the beginning of the story instead of going back in time half way through. Not a book we would recommend.