The Polished Hoe

John Walker is a professor of Spanish studies at Queen’s University.

Set on the West Indian island of Bimshire (read Barbados), in the 1930s
and 1940s, The Polished Hoe (winner of the 2002 Giller Prize and the
2002 Trillium Book Award) describes that island’s social and political
development under the colonial rule of the powerful white minority of
judges, teachers, lawyers, and landowners who rode roughshod over the
black majority who provided the workforce for the large sugar
plantations. More specifically, it is the story of Mary-Mathilda, who is
sexually exploited as a child by the white overseer Mr. Bellfeels and
then set up in a big house when she eventually gives him the son his
wife cannot provide.

Mary-Mathilda’s story is presented through a confession about a
recently committed crime. The confession, heard by a police officer who
is an old friend and would-be lover, becomes the story of a whole people
and its tribulations—racism, colonialism, slavery, cruelty, plus
sexual, social, and political exploitation. Clarke captures masterfully
the rhythms of Barbados speech and the colors, smells, music, and
customs of the island. The polished hoe, a symbol of the back-breaking
work of the plantation workers, becomes an instrument of justice in the
development and denouement of this important and enjoyable novel.