The Chosen Place, the Timeless People was written by Paule Marshall, a talented novelist and professor of literature. This striking novel was published during 1984 by Vintage.
This text highlights the rocky relationship that develops between two vastly different groups: poor inhabitants of the Caribbean island and a team of American researchers. Marshall emphasizes the stark contrast between the impoverished Caribbean people and the privileged American researchers with rich historical details and vivid imagery. Yet she manages to emphasize the humanity that unites them as one.
Numerous Goodreads reviewers admire the honest and detailed depiction of strife among the Caribbean people and how that ties to their history of enslavement. They also admire the sociological perspective Marshall applies to the story, among other things. On the other hand, some Goodreads reviewers are dissatisfied with the pace and highly melancholic nature of plot events, among other issues.
Marshall has a Barbadian background, which provides her with an in-depth view of island life. She is also an award-winning author, possessing the Dos Passos Prize for Literature and the 2009 Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award.
