Book Review - Green Days by the River

Image taken from Trinidad & Tobago's Newsday

“Most of these boys and girls I did not know, for I was new to Pierre Hill.” The short story Green Days by the River written by Michael Anthony was published in 1967 by Houghton Mifflin and in the 1973 Caribbean Writers Series. The story focuses on how the male protagonist grew into himself after moving to a new village. This book comprises of family, friendship, love, youthfulness, laughter and maturity all wrapped up in 192 pages.

The story occurred in the Inland village of Pierre Hill, Trinidad, and is about the life of Shellie Lammy, a fifteen year old boy. Shell as he was normally called moved to Pierre Hill form Radix due to his father`s illness. Shortly after his arrival he met Mr. Gidharee who passed by his house every morning with his four Tobago dogs. He even becomes familiar with four boys who he saw pelting down cashew. Shell becomes attracted to Mr. Gidharee daughter Rosalie who he calls a ‘Dougla’. Mr. Gidharee becomes drawn to Shell and takes him to his plantation ‘Cedar Grove’. His generosity in turn makes Shell begin to see him as a father figure, however, Shell did not tell him about his attraction towards his daughter. He (Shell)later found out that Rosalie might be in love with Joe on of the four boys. It was Lennard (another boy from the group of four) who introduced him to Joan the girl from Sangre Grande, at the Discovery day fair and as they danced together Shell felt attraction. What would become of this attraction?

As time passes we see the protagonist being caught in situation that seemed too difficult for him. As the story progress we sense that Mr. Gidharee saw Shell as a potential suitor for his daughter. He (Shell)sensed this because of how often they went to the plantation and by the gifts given to him. Shell even noticed that Rosalie had become attracted to him (page 95), and was worried that she told someone what happened between them on Boxing Night. Shell’s father was rushed to the hospital and was in critical condition. Will the dog attack affect their relationship? Is Mr. Gidharee generosity pure? What happened between Shell and Rosalie on boxing night?  What will happen to Mr. Lammy (Shell’s father)? The only way to answer these questions is to read the book.

The stories plot was surprising because of the sudden changes to each characters role as they matured and begin to make decisions for themselves. One of the best characters in the book was Mr. Gidharee because he seemed unpredictable, readers may have a hard time figuring out who he really is. Another character that would grab reader’s attention is Shell, because we see what his life was like as he dealt with the situation around him whether directly or indirectly. Shell was one of the characters whose personality stood out. One of the books greatest strengths was the use of informal language, because it was West Indian we see the use of slangs, creole and descriptive words that allowed readers to imagine and feel what the characters saw and felt. Its weakness was that the story was left incomplete as readers wonder what happened to Joan. This book is strongly related to another novel written by the same author, ‘The year in San Fernando’ since both books deal with the world of a child and the West Indian reality (pg. vii).

Green days by the River was basically about the coming of age or the growing maturity of a boy called Shell and the joys and struggles that he faced. This book would be recommended for teenagers and lovers of literature, it illustrates what the life of a West Indian child was like.