In the interest of full disclosure, the author is my mother. But my five stars aside, I feel that her latest book deserves a review, so that amazon.com customers might get an idea of what "Festival" is about.

My mother writes about her home, Belize (formerly British Honduras), a land of many cultures and ethnicities, and the only English-speaking nation on the mainland of Central America.

"Festival" is her latest novel. It tells the story of a woman tried and convicted for the murder of her husband. It's written in first-person , with a touch of magical-realism, and flashback sequences that make the book hard to put down.

Luz Marina is trying to put her life back together after her release from jail. This involves clashing with her dead husband's family over custody of her children, and a land deal the family is attempting to make that would be disastrous for the nation.

Zee Edgell writes the story of Belize, the story of women, the story of people.

I believe that I know this author,Zee Edgell. Did you graduate from SCA in 1958? I would like to know . I'm sure you would remember me. We were in the same graduating class. marie weir I am a teacher, living in Texas

This is a lovely, lyrical coming-of-age story that I think that most people who like to read would enjoy. It meant a lot to me especially because I was born in Belize, but came to the United States at a very young, and don't really remember this place that my parents and other relatives constantly talked about. BEKA LAMB described that Belize of former days and while not varnishing over the hardship, the poverty and the poor choices that women had there also showed the beauty of life in a close-knit community with its own history and rituals (many of which I know are now lost). I have been reading sections to my mother, a native Belize creole; she recognizes everything from the Sunday walks to the funeral customs and is very delighted with the book. But I don't think the book would only appeal to people from a Belizean background. It is also one of the best-done coming-of-age books I have ever read, which really delves into the minds and souls of two young girls (Beka and her friend Toycie) who are at a crossroads and will make choices that take them in very different directions.

The first time I read this book, it was a mandatory reading assignment in Catholic school in the Caribbean. I left that country and my copy of the book behind and have searched incessantly for it ever since. The story of "Beka Lamb" is a realistic portrayal of Caribbean life for a young girl. The political climate in the novel is still very much in existence today. The plight of the character Toycie is universal.A poor, uneducated, neglected girl, who falls for the first male who gives her an iota of attention.The overbearing matriachs and the struggle for Beka to assert herself as a woman is realistic. Zee Edgell's use of symbolism in the novel is superb.

Edgell can write beautifully and this is a good book in many ways, very interesting in the way it describes the transition of a small country from colonialism to independence. However, I didn't really like the actual plot. Pavana Leslie's problems didn't grip me -- I felt as if she needed more common sense in her personal life and by the time I got to the melodramatic ending (involving a couple of shootings and the kidnapping of her children) I was bored. Edgell's BEKA LAMB is a true masterpiece, in my opinion, one of the best books of the twentieth century, worthy of being placed along with the writings of Derek Walcott and V. S. Naipaul (both Nobel prize winners). I gave IN TIMES LIKE THESE four stars, because Edgell cannot write badly -- the descriptions in this book are wonderful and the political points that are brought up are tellingly made and would apply to a lot of 'developing' nations, but if a plot that grips you is really important to you as a reader, this probably would not be your favorite book.

In the interest of full disclosure, I want to say up front that the author is my mother. The above five stars aside, I'm writing to give amazon.com readers an idea of the tale "In Times" tells.

In her second novel, Zee Edgell writes about a woman returning to Belize after living and working abroad. Her reasons involve acquainting her twins with their father, and a desire to contribute to her country as it stumbles toward independence from Great Britain in the early 1980's.

In telling of Pavana's quest, Edgell also paints a gripping, historical picture of the people and politics of the small nation of Belize (formerly British Honduras), the only English-speaking nation on the maintain of Central America.

The novel was origianlly written as a screen-play, and its pacing, detail and dialogue sweep the reader along much like a movie does.