The Hills Were Joyful Together

Overview

Bending and manipulating the linear narrative structures of conventional fiction, this stark and brutal novel—originally published in 1953—is a powerful reflection on colonial Jamaica and the condition of the urban poor, told through the voices and stories of several boldly drawn characters. Beginning with Surjue, a man arrested and imprisoned following a botched robbery, who struggles for survival within Jamaica’s colonial prison, this tale bears an unflinching and distressing realism that combines poetic spirit, tragic vision, and prophetic rage, while offering an acute look at the reality the poor in 1950s Jamaica.

Author Biography

Roger Mais was a celebrated literary journalist and active proponent of Jamaican nationalism, whose published criticisms of Winston Churchill's imperialist ideology led to his imprisonment on charges of sedition. He was the author of Black Lightning and Brother Man.