The Aspect of Memory in Oonya Kempadoo’s All Decent Animals and Buxton Spice

Abstract

Oonya Kempadoo, a Caribbean novelist of mixed racial and cultural heritage, has harnessed the power of memory in her novels. Her fresh approach and representation of Caribbean life provoke a sense of familiarity even in the most distanced reader, owing to the inclusion of true-to-life representations of socio-cultural experiences. The facets of diversity, socio- political relations, familial ties, and psychological implications are explored in the novels. In this paper, the study will focus on the instances of collective cultural memory, individual memory, material memory, and socio-cultural memories surrounding displacement in All Decent Animals (2013) and Buxton Spice (1998). Existing at the intersection of diverse, melismatic ethnic groups, the novels under consideration pulsate with dynamic portrayals of characters, experiences, and events. The microcosmic representation of multiculturalism as observed in the novels shall also be examined through the lens of memory studies, while also exploring the ways that memory manifests itself as a palpable construct.

Keywords

• memory studies
• cultural memory
• multiculturalism
• caribbean literature
• postcolonial literature