All Decent Animals

A group gathers to care for a dying friend and learns about themselves in the process in this novel from “a preeminent writer of Caribbean fiction” (Booklist).

“How am I only now finding out about this writer? It's as if she's inventing her own language, which is incantatory, dense, and lush. The authority and blood pulse of it seduced me.” ―O, the Oprah Magazine

Oonya Kempadoo's moving third novel, All Decent Animals, looks at the personal and aesthetic choices of a multifaceted cast of characters on the Caribbean island of Trinidad―a country still developing economically but rich culturally, aiming at “world-class” status amid its poor island cousins. It is a novel about relationships, examined through the distinct rhythms of the city of Port of Spain.

Loyalties, love, conflicting cultures, and creativity come into play as Ata, a young woman working in carnival design but curious about writing, and her European boyfriend, Pierre, negotiate the care of their friend Fraser, a closeted gay man dying from AIDS. The contradictory Trinidadian setting becomes a parallel character to Fraser's Cambridge-derived artistic sensibility and an antagonist to Ata's creative journey.

All Decent Animals is a forthright inquiry into the complexity of character, social issues, and island society, with all the island's humor, mysticism, and tragedy.

“Combining a highly lyrical prose, a superb command of the blending of languages, and an exacting power of observation, Kempadoo creates an unforgettable cast of characters. She also creates a hypnotic picture of Trinidad, one of the crossroads of the Caribbean.” ―NBC Latino