Olga: A Daughter's Tale by
Marie-Thérèse BrowneMy rating:
3 of 5 starsA powerful touching biography of a young colored woman during the days when racism was still very much present in post colonial Britain.
Hailing from the tropical paradise of Jamaica, which was formerly a British colony, young Olga comes to Britain, the land of her mother's birth, with bright blue eyes hoping to learn to be a dancer. The trying times and struggles that she goes through, thanks to a scheming, vile aunt, the world war 2, her skin color and the circumstances she finds herself in wouldn't fail to touch your heart. She deals with all these challenges head on. She is even raped by a guy she had a crush on for sometime, and finds out later that she is pregnant. She also ends up losing her nursing job...and has to struggle to make her ends meet and raise her daughter, which she does admirably and in a way that shows the depth of her strength and character.
Presented in the form of letters and diary entries which were faithfully kept by Olga, Olga's mother Becky, and others...this book was woven together by Olga's daughter Marie out of an attempt to understand her mother and her family history. Very moving and touching,...and you can't help but feel Olga's pain and the trials and tribulations that life kept serving to her...or help admiring her strength when she overcomes all these odds and suffering, to bring up her daughter in an admirable way. I salute the spirit of this lady.
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