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Marshall Sarjeant is born at the beginning of the 20th century in Paradise, Jamaica. As a young man, he is entrusted with a mythical quest to overcome a curse that has been put on his family. He must do this by returning to Africa from where family members were brought as slaves. Marshall's journey is a long, taking him first to wartime Liverpool and then, London where he marries and mixes with a clubland crowd of gamblers, musicians and politicians. In Africa, he finds a continent in the turbulent throes of attempting to escape a colonial past. Returning to Paradise, Marshall's life turns full circle in his epic mission to defeat the duppy, or ghost that started him on his voyage. Duppy Conqueror
Duppy Conqeror was first published in 1998 but. due to HopeRoad is now back in print and, hopefully, will reach a wider fanbase for it is a unique novel.
Marshall Sarjeant, who lives with his aunt in Paradise Jamaica , discovers that his family carries a curse which leads to being crippled or insane. After an unfortunate incident involving the discovery of a missing teacher, he is sent to the place where the curse all started. There he finds out he has a mission to overcome the evil spirit (or duppy) and banish the curse forever and to become the Duppy Conqueror.
Throughout Marshall’s mission we see over 60 years of Jamaican history : The role Jamaicans played in Britain during the second world war, the windrush generation, slavery, the African diaspora and Jamaica’s development into an urban area.
The book’s main message is about reconnecting with one’s roots. In the beginning of Duppy Conqueror, Marshall rejects an origin myth about Jamaica, however through all the experiences and encounters he starts to accept his roots, this is further exemplified when he visits Africa and discovers more about his birthplace. I guess when we want to defeat our demons it is best to get to the roots and sort out the problems there.
Duppy Conqueror is an odd book to define. It’s a mixture of historical fiction, there’s a picaresque element, it’s also a bildungsroman of sorts. There are surreal moments but there realistic ones as well, not to mention the political aspect. Furthermore all is told in an incredibly readable way, which gets all the points across easily.
Duppy Conqueror is considered to be Ferdinand Dennis’ masterpiece and I can definitely see why. It’s fun, has a wicked sense of humor and discusses serious issues all at once and there’s a lot of surprises along the way. 9780006497844 I grew up in the Caribbean where in Trinidad the blue land crabs were known as 'blue duppies' or blue ghosts. This book is a great read covering the spooks of Jamaica and the legacy of slavery on a family in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Marshall moves to Liverpool and London where we are immersed in Toxteth and the London East End and pan Africanism, then to Africa post independence and back to the final scenes in Jamaica. Nostalgic, educational and full of great characters. 9780006497844