![]() Fact is, I see Seduce being played on stages worldwide.Īs the characters relate Seduce’s story, and consequently their stories too, Desiree Reynolds weaves an intriguing tale of displaced Africans and their relationship with their motherland. The story is told through various characters, including Seduce herself, which, in my opinion, lends itself to being easily transformed into a play. Set in Seduce’s home in a fictitious Caribbean country called Church, which is apparently still operating under colonial rule, and right after Seduce, an old lampi (prostitute) has died, her story emerges. Anthropology, history, cultural studies – it’s all in the brew of this pepperpot stew Reynolds’ brilliantly active mind has mixed. With that said, Seduce, the 2013, Peepal Tree-published book is nevertheless a winner, since it’s a very ambitious book that tackles the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of the present situation of displaced Africans. Imagine the classic and beautifully striking contrast of that white word Seduce on a pure-black skin, and all the potent images it would conjure! The face on the cover should believably be that of Seduce, since her name is written in white across the mouth of the half-face on the cover. Having seen 12 Years a Slave, one pictures the lead actress Lupita N’yongo’s or the African supermodel Alek Wek’s beautiful skin tone, each time Seduce’s bewitching black skin is mentioned, so my only ‘issue’ with Seduce is its cover. Even dead, Seduce seems to have a hold on the entire community. Having been introduced to the character Seduce from different characters in the novel, and also herself, the reader knows she was an exotic beauty with velvet black skin who apparently mesmerised men, married or not. Through Seduce, Reynolds gives us the voice and story that has for the most part being noticeably absent. I’m very much appreciative of Reynolds for writing this book, which I think offers readers a counterpart to the traditional male/main character in the context of our slave and colonial history. The other major difference between Seduce and An Echo in the Bone is that the former is not a play, as is the latter. At the same time, Seduce conjures the seductive allure of the velvet black skin of Reynolds’ main character that has through history captivated the onlooker, who in the context of the plantation, has taken that black skin without permission. It could also be the crew on the great slave ship of the plantation. And of course, a slave ship is conjured, because of the context of the book. Crew represents more than one, a group of workers on a ship, perhaps. Interestingly enough, even in this difference lies a similarity – the symbolism of the names. ![]() The major differences between Seduce and An Echo in the Bone? Well, Reynolds’ main character, who is dead, is female and her name is Seduce, whilst Scott’s main character is Crew, who is also dead. In other words, the nine-night or vigil, as the present time in which the story unfolds, whilst going back into history, the “bone”, to tell the full story of the main character, who in fact, could even be interpreted as the reader. Like Scott, too, Reynolds has chosen death and someone’s transitioning period when it is believed they have not fully passed on to the other side. In Seduce, Desiree Reynolds, very much like Dennis Scott in An Echo in the Bone, takes the reader back to their past to explain the present.
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