Where sexuality does not matter

His brilliant use of imagery turns a novel into the equivalent of an exquisite painting.

His edgy characters and themes about history, culture and sexuality are simply unsurpassed.

Scott tells timeless stories that we want to hear, but are afraid to speak about. His novels and stories never grow old, they stay around to haunt us and remind us that issues – like good themes – don’t fade into the sunset.

This is why Scott’s novel Witchbroom has found a new life with its re-publication by Papillote Press. Witchbroom, a cultural narrative of Trinidad told by a hermaphrodite, was described by the late Sam Selvon as “rare and magical. The first (story) of its kind.” First published in 1992, it precedes Middlesex, a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides published in 2002 which is similar only in its brave exploration of sexuality in a novel form.

Looking back on his life, Lavren, the narrator of Witchboom, reconstructs his story by tracing Trinidad’s history. Lavren is a strong and unusual narrator because s/he can transcend the confines of being male or female.

Most stories appeal to one sex or another allowing the opposite sex to appreciate the viewpoint of the narrator and the limitations the narrator has because of his or her point of view. An author can bridge the gap that a narrator’s point of view often creates and pull in readers from the opposite sex through the use of theme, but by using Lavren, Scott elevates the narrator to a whole new level where sexuality does not matter. It is vaguely reminiscent of what Virginia Woolf pulled off in Orlando. A narrator not confined by sex can be quite powerful, as readers will discover when they meet Lavren.

As many of Scott’s narrators, Lavren has returned home to reflect on his past so he can understand something better about the present. There is usually a journey involved in the enlightenment of Scott’s characters.

Lavren discovers – as we all do – that the story of our lives begins further back than we are usually aware. These are the Tales of the First House, the stories that start out to sea and are rooted in colonialism and religion. They are legends and beginnings, Lavren tells us that have no dates and no beginnings.

Part Two, The Tale of the House on the Plains, serves as a bridge from the old world to the new world. Filled with expeditions, myths, and stories they offer a link from the past to the present.

The past always reflects on the present. It is, as Lavren says in the opening of the Tale of the House in the Cocoa, “inherited”.

As each chapters builds an historical record for Lavren, readers will note how Scott captures the imagery that becomes part and parcel of local culture.

In A Journal another narrator takes over, creating a whole new layer of the vision that connects past to present while reminding readers this is not merely Lavren’s story. It’s everyone’s story.

There’s The Tale of the House in Town and then back to the country for The Tale of the House in the Sugar, The Tale of the Last House. Finally, the story culminates in J’Ouvert where the sacred and the profane; the past and the present collide.

Witchbroom is not a particularly easy book to read, but it is well worth the experience – as all of Scott’s novels are. It is a breathtaking novel, filled with memorable characters and important history. Most of all, it is the story of how we are all the product of that march through time