Blue Mountain Trouble

Susan Merskey is freelance writer in London, Ontario.

Pollyread and Jackson Gilmore are 11-year-old twins living with their parents in a village high up in the misty island mountains of Jamaica. Pollyread is super-bright, Jackson more practical, but despite their differences, they are inseparable. As they walk to school one morning, the image of a huge disembodied goat’s head looms out of the mist in front of them. This vision appears to them at other times, too; each appearance heralds an ominous event. Shortly afterwards, Jammy, a young thug newly released from prison, sweeps in, stirring up the twins’ world in a variety of ways and hinting at a deep, dark secret which may change all their lives forever. As the school year ends we learn that Pollyread has won a valuable scholarship to the best school in the district. Jackson, who would far rather work with his father than continue his education, is destined for the other school. At the same time, the twins finally realize that their mother is pregnant. Jammy’s secret, too, is revealed.

Author Martin Mordecai was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, though he now lives in Toronto. He weaves together the various threads of his story skilfully, drawing the reader inexorably along with him. His use of West Indian–style cadence and vocabulary takes a little getting used to, but it certainly adds both style and atmosphere to his work. Blue Mountain Trouble is his first novel; I hope he will write more. Recommended.