One People

Set in the village of Cousins Cove, Jamaica, One People plunges us into a small community where everyone knows everyone's business, poverty is a way of life and dreams of escape trickle through fingers. Guy Kennaway's comic novel – sparkling with irreverent wit and written partly in Patwa – is cherished in Jamaica for its humour and humanity. It celebrates the essence of the island, where 'culture is something that comes from the ground up and good times do not require a whole heap o' money'. First published in 1997, the book grew out of the tales that Kennaway listened to on the island during his first ten years as an idle expatriate.