Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.latimes.misc From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: FICTION Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 07:02:32 EST Message-ID: HEADLINE: FICTION Publication Date: Sunday November 8, 1992 BYLINE: MICHAEL HARRIS NO MAN IN THE HOUSE by Cecil Foster (Ballantine: $17; 280 pp.) England is an illusion of escape for Howard Prescod, the 9-year-old hero of Cecil Foster's first novel. Howard lives with his grandmother in Barbados in 1964, the year the island voted for independence. His parents have emigrated, and Howard's main hope is to join them, though they write less and less often. The schools for black children are long on floggings but short on the kind of education that would enable him to become more than a gardener or a sugar-cane cutter. Malicious neighbors stone the grandmother's house--since she has no man to protect her--and steal her food. Foster's aim here is to tell two parallel stories: how the people of Barbados, made fractious and childish by colonialism, mustered the confidence to vote it out; and how Howard learns that his real future lies at home. The agent of change is Mr. Bradshaw, the school's first black headmaster. He tells children like Howard that they can indeed pass the exams that will qualify them for higher schooling. As he drills them on reading and math, he carries on a romance with the radical daughter of the local white political boss. "No Man in the House" also tells a third story: that of the women of Barbados, who hold things together when the men are unemployed, abusive or absent. In this descriptive, colorful novel, Howard himself is a bit of a blur: Too many of his alleged perceptions as a 9-year-old are clearly the reminiscences of an older person. Foster skims over his intellectual awakening, a key to the story. But the beleaguered grandmother, Howard's young aunts and the other village women are vividly drawn; their angry, loving voices are riches in an impoverished world. This article is copyright 1992 The Los Angeles Times Home Edition. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM