In this book Duncan not only positions himself as one of the few voices of afro-caribbean writers who dares to tell and not negate the existance of Blacks in Latin American countries, but also as a strong story teller. His stories are not simple retellings of the african experience within the forced caribbean enclave in Limon,Costa Rica but they are born out of his own experience.
We feel the pain of suffering from a seemingly displaced identity, belonging neither here (Latin America) nor there (Caribbean). We share his the pride in the customs of his Caribbean grandparents and the bitterness of him not being accepted as a first generation Costa Rican. We suffer his grandmother's anxiety at poverty, when she sees that the only way for her boys to survive successfuly is to leave the familiar and venture into the drastically different and prejudiced Hispanic world. We understand the importance of the English language as a means of preserving that which is unique to and of deep value to his culture and the need for learning to communicate for survival in the Spanish language of the majority.
Anyone who is interested in or ignorant of african descendants in democratic and progressive Hispanic countries such as Costa Rica should read this book.