CC Alick | Dancing with the Yumawalli

Published: May 28, 2010

In a novel the author says is “inspired by true events,” young Godfrey tries to unravel the mystery of his best friend’s death on the Caribbean island of Grenada.

On the day Karrol disappeared into the sea, “I crossed over, into matters arcane, mystical, and do I dare say, murderous?” writes the young narrator. In his quest to avenge his friend’s mysterious death, he takes up with a painter, disfigured by thalidomide, and Uncle Sydney, a leper married to the mysterious and seductive Xudine.

When his father dies, Godfrey heads to sea aboard the Black Dog, and continues his search for his origins, “for de marrow in de bone.” It’s a perilous journey that pits him against the sinister Yumawalli in a world that’s inhabited by ancient spirits and modern-day misfits.

Alick, who grew up in Grenada, now lives in Missoula. “The world he portrays -– with fine writing, bone-deep knowledge and passion – is not the glossy stuff of tourism, but the far richer and more powerful life that he himself grew up in,” writes author Neil McMahon.

Alick also wrote a collection of stories, Wet Storage and Other Stories, in 2005.

– Kristi Niemeyer