Language English Originally published 1954 Genres Fiction, Novel | Publication date 1954 Pages 191 pp | |
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Similar Jamaica books, Fiction books | ||
Brother Man (1954) is a novel by Jamaican Roger Mais, about a Messianic folk Rastafarian healer, 'Bra' Man' (in dialect) John Power. The book is significant as the first serious representation of the Rastafari movement in literature. Mais foresaw the defining power of the Rasta movement to Jamaican society 20 years before the era of Bob Marley and Reggae mainstream.
It is also significant as an exploration of life in the ghetto of Kingston. It shows how the people relate to leaders, both making them deities and throwing them away when they fail to entertain them. The novel is written in prose with a layout that is seemingly cinematic and episodic; little is done to describe the environment beyond the claustrophobic ghetto of 'The Lane' in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica.
Plot summary
The plot follows the superstructure of Christ's story, with other characters resembling Mary Magdelene and other figures from his life. It uses this to explore conditions in the black ghetto of Kingston and the growth of the Rastafari movement.
The novel is written in prose with a layout that is seemingly cinematic and episodic. Most of the action is limited to the claustrophobic ghetto of 'The Lane' in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica.