How to Love a Jamaican

‘Arthurs‘s debut is vivid and exciting, and every story rings beautifully true.‘ Marie Claire Tenderness and cruelty, loyalty and betrayal, ambition and regret - these are the tensions at the heart of Alexia Arthurs‘ debut book about Jamaican immigrants and their families back home. Some stories ask big questions about the things that define a person, others explode small moments of deep significance and lasting effect. Sweeping from close-knit island communities to the streets of New York City, How to Love a Jamaican offers a portrait of a nation, a people, and a way of life. Vibrant, lyrical and intimate, this book shows Alexia Arthurs to be one of the most dynamic and exciting young authors writing today. It includes the story ‘Bad Behavior‘, for which she won the Paris Review‘s Plimpton Prize. ‘Beautifully written and absorbing . . . a complex and rich collection of stories that is quite simply unmissable‘ Emerald Street ‘Arthurs masterfully teases out the joys and sorrows of cultural bifurcation. The result is a symphony of voices for a generation‘ Financial Times ‘This dazzling debut marks the emergence of a knockout new voice‘ Oprah Magazine