Going Home in Chains

Themes of coerced displacement and sexual disillusionment run through these stories as they shift between the Caribbean and America, arriving doused in magic, musicality and humor. From the title story about a man trapped in the nightmarish glare of post 9/11 scrutiny after he forgets a bag in Grand Central Station; to the deliciously funny but poignant "Sweet Destine" about a man unable to deal with his wife's sexual awakening after they migrate to America; or the darkly comic and passionate "Licks Like Peas," Lovell's lyrical prose delights and captures the vibrant rhythms of love, longing and loss rooted in the Caribbean soul where home is not always where the heart is.