''The Swinging Bridge'' is a

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Ramabai Espinet Ramabai Espinet (born 1948) is an Indo-Trinidadian poet, novelist, essayist, and critic from Trinidad and Tobago. Espinet was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. She attended York University in Toronto, Canada before earning a Ph.D. at the ...

, published in 2003 by

HarperCollins Publishing HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the " Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. HarperCollins is ...

. In 2004, the novel was short-listed for the

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation has presented a number of prizes since 1987. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best First ...

in the category of Best First Book (Caribbean and Canada Region). Espinet's novel focuses on a multi-generational Indo-Trinidadian family living in Canada, touching on a number of themes and topics such as gender identity and matrilineal ties. Ramabai Espinet is an Indo-Trinidadian author born in

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1948. Since she originally migrated to Canada in the 1970s, Espinet has divided her time between the Caribbean and Canada. Espinet received her Ph.D. from the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago Saint Augustine is a town in the northwest of Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. Town It is the site of the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine (UWI-STA). In the 2019-2020 school year, there were 16,571 students enrolled in the univers ...

after graduating from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

in Toronto, Ontario. She is currently a professor at

Seneca College Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, branded as Seneca Polytechnic since 2023, is a multi-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccala ...

. Some of her other notable works besides ''The Swinging Bridge'' include ''Beyond the Kalapani'', ''The Princess of Spadina'', and ''Ninja's Carnival''.Budhu, Reshma
"Ramabai Espinet: Section15.ca"
Ramabai Espinet :: Section15.ca. Section15.ca, 9 December 1997. Web. 20 April 2014.

Major themes

The major themes of the novel are: *Silencing of history and its voices *

Immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

*Cultural, gender, and sexual oppression *

Marginalization Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. In the EU context, the Euro ...

Indo-Caribbean Indo-Caribbean or Indian-Caribbean people are people from the Caribbean who trace their ancestry to the Indian subcontinent. They are descendants of the Jahaji indentured laborers from British India, who were brought by the British, Dutch, and ...

families *Historical archive with primary sources *"Double Diaspora" — both the Indian diaspora in the Caribbean and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora in North America (IE: Canada)''Diasporic (Dis)Locations: Indo-Caribbean Writers Negotiate the Kala Pani''. Kingston: University of West Indies Press. 2004. *Music, songwriting *

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

*Rape and sexual violence

Plot summary

Mona, a Trinidadian living in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, is a film researcher whose family left Trinidad for Canada in hopes of finding a better life. At the start of her story, Mona gets word from her sister, Babs, that their brother, Kello, is dying. Kello tells his family that he is dying of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

, but later reveals that he is actually dying from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. He reveals to his sisters that he is in a relationship with a man, but swears them to secrecy. As the oldest, Kello asks Mona to return to Trinidad after his death and buy the family land back. Mona is hesitant, but eventually learns that she was given this opportunity to discover more about her family history, their journey from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to Trinidad, and the hardships they had to face along the way. Throughout the novel, Mona unveils the significance of the historical archive for the history of her family, women, and the greater Indo-Trinidadian culture over the course of several generations and migrations. She gives voice to the marginalized voices that were silenced by the past and even by her own people. Set in modern times, this novel interconnects the past to the present. As Mona discovers these hidden histories, she also comes to discover herself. The "Swinging Bridge" serves as a symbol of her life journey and the journey of her ancestors.

Historical context

* Kala pani (Espinet 4, 89) *"

Coolie Coolie (also spelled koelie, kouli, khuli, khulie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a pejorative term used for low-wage labourers, typically those of Indian people, Indian or Chinese descent. The word ''coolie'' was first used in the 16th cent ...

" (Espinet 58) * Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago) Carnival (Espinet 69-70) *

J'ouvert J'ouvert ( ) (also Jour ouvert, Jouvay, or Jouvé) is a traditional Carnival celebration in many countries throughout the Caribbean. The parade is believed to have its foundation in Trinidad & Tobago, with roots steeped in French Afro-Creole t ...

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

Cécile Fatiman Cécile Fatiman () was a Haitian Vodou priestess and revolutionary. Born to an enslaved African woman and a Corsican prince, she lived her early life in slavery, before being drawn to Enlightenment ideals of "liberté, égalité, fraterni ...

Mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

priestess, influential in the beginnings of the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

Calypso Music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians during the early- to mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back ...

*Chinese Immigration to the Caribbean

References

*Ramraj, Victor J
"Caribbean-Canadian literature in English"
''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature'', Oxford University Press, 1997. Oxford Reference. 2006. Date Accessed 15 Apr. 2014. *Palmer, C. A. (2006). ''Eric Williams & the making of the modern Caribbean''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. *Allahar, A. (2001). ''Caribbean Charisma: Reflections on leadership, legitimacy, and populist politics''. Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers. *Mehta, B. J. (2004). ''Diasporic (dis)locations: Indo-Caribbean women writers negotiate the kala pani''. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Swinging Bridge, The 2003 Canadian novels HarperCollins books Novels set in Montreal