The Origin of Waves
Austin Clarke’s luminous novel, written in vivid, hypnotic prose, reveals the dislocations of place and the nature of memory and the past. Two elderly Barbadian men, childhood friends who haven’t seen each other in fifty years, collide in a snowstorm on a Toronto street. In the warmth of a nearby bar, through the afternoon and into the night, they relate stories, exchange opinions, and share memories of a past in Barbados when, as children, neither could conceive any other place existed for them. As these two men confess to each other their innermost truths, their exploits and their love affairs, one tells the haunting story of a young Chinese woman, the other of the real reason for his visit to Toronto. Infused with pathos and humour, and with an affecting nostalgia for the idea of home, The Origin of Waves is a stunning and original novel by one of the country’s most gifted writers.
Austin Clarke is a novelist, short story writer and poet born in Barbados.
Other publications from this author include:
- In Your Crib (2015)
- Where The Sun Shines Best (2013)
- They Never Told Me: and Other Stories (2013)
- More (2009)
- Choosing His Coffin: The Best Stories of Austin Clarke (2003)
- The Polished Hoe (2002)
- The Question (1999)
- The Austin Clarke Reader (1996)
- Canadian Experience (1994)
- There Are No Elders (1993)
- In This City (1992)
- Proud Empires (1988)
- Nine Men Who Laughed (1986)
- When Women Rule (1985)
- Prime Minister (1977)
- The Bigger Light (1975)
- Storm of Fortune (1973)
- When He Was Free and Young and He Used to Wear Silks (1971)
- The Meeting Point (1967)
- Amongst Thistles and Thorns (1965)
- The Survivors of the Crossing (1964)