The Duppy
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Every country (if she’s lucky) gets the Mark Twain she deserves, and Winkler is ours, bristling with savage Jamaican wit” (Marlon James).
Being dead is most definitely an impediment to writing a book, under ordinary circumstances. But the narrator of this novel, Taddeus Augustus Baps, has turned into a duppy—a ghost renowned in Caribbean folklore—and he has a story to tell.
At first, he thinks that his new status as a spirit will provide some mischievous fun, but he’s in for disappointment. He gets whisked off to heaven—via minibus—where he meets not only God but some other interesting characters, and finds that the afterlife can be more irritating than one might expect . . .
This smart, rollicking, and ultimately uplifting tale is a delight from the prize-winning author of The Lunatic and other comic novels. As The Independent said of Anthony Winkler’s work, “It’s almost as if P. G. Wodehouse had strolled into the world of Bob Marley.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jamaican-born novelist Winkler recounts the journey of Taddeus Augustus Baps, a 47-year old Jamaican man who becomes a "duppy," or spirit, after he dies. Shocked by his unexpected death, Baps discovers he's unable to touch anything earthly and quickly surmises his new status will enable him to "overhear scandal and rumor, eavesdrop on backbiting and tale-telling" and witness men "grind" on their housekeepers. But before Baps can have any fun, a deceased thief arrives to escort him to heaven, where nothing measures up to Baps's expectations, especially the minibus not chariot trip to the Promised Land. Once in heaven, Baps meets Miss B, a country general store proprietress who takes him as her lover until she's called to another duty. After her departure, a perennially cranky Baps takes control of her shop and struggles to get the other heavenly villagers to respect him. In addition, Baps befriends God, bickers with a conflicted American philosopher and travels in an effort to expand his otherworldly horizons. Winkler (Dog War) earns a lot of chuckles as he pokes fun at cultural stereotypes and the afterlife.
