Jamaica is no paradise in ‘Here Comes The Sun’

This is the Jamaica that the world sees, full of beautiful women and – world class cricketers sometimes: that’s Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar – but Nicole Dennis-Benn’s debut novel shows another side to the tropical paradise. Photo: Reuters

Nicole Dennis-Benn’s striking first novel bears a vivid cover and a jaunty title, but its subject matter is anything but superficial.

Set in Jamaica in 1994, during a crippling drought and the creeping encroachment of high-end hotels along the shores of Montego Bay, Here Comes The Sun takes a hard look at difficult subjects – class, poverty, identity, racism, homophobia, colourism.