Journey as the Wire Bend; Up River Where the Story End

Set on a Caribbean island reminiscent of Trinidad, Journey as the Wire Bend; Up River Where the Story End is a modern tale which takes the reader on a pilgrimage into the heart of Caribbean mythology. Following an attempted coup, Annabelle for her safety is sent from the city to join her two cousins and their parents in a remote mountain region. Following the coup there is no television and the children, resorting to more traditional ways of occupying themselves, set off on a hike into the forest. Annabelle with her game-box and other electronic gadgetry, is a metaphor for the modern world they leave behind as they delve further and further up river, encountering as they do mythical creatures from Caribbean folklore: Mama D’Glo (River Mother), Anansi (the spiderman) and the Dwens (the lost souls of the forest), and a host of other bush characters.

Written with exuberance and confidence, Levi’s language moves effortlessly between the standard English of the narration and the ‘nation language’ of the dialogue, to enchant the young reader. The pages are interspersed with some eight of Evans’ evocative line drawings.