The Stall Keeper, Dr. Reynolds third book and second novel, is set in his hometown of Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, and uses the American World War II occupation of the town as backdrop.
According to the book’s cover copy, “The inhabitants of Vieux Fort, a Caribbean town occupied by the Americans during World War II, were said to be waiting for the Americans’ return to bring back the good times. Five-year-old Henry whose father died when he was eighteen months old was still walking up to men asking, “Mister, are you my father?” His mother, Eunice, a strict Seventh Day Adventist with the gift of foretelling the future, would not be unequally yoked. Eugene, a stall keeper and the town’s most colorful and free-spirited character, was a woman living in a man’s body, and a man living in a woman’s world. Ruben, a favorite son, an intellectual, a famous cricketer and a staunch Roman Catholic, falls madly in love with Eunice. What happens in Vieux Fort when Henry teams up with Eugene and Ruben warms his way into the heart of Eunice is a tale of magic and tragedy.
The writings of Dr. Reynolds, be it fiction or nonfiction, has been described as a world in which a great drama unfolds where history, geography, nature, culture, the supernatural, and socioeconomic and political factors all combine to seal the fate of its characters. In this crucible of a world, readers are provided with deep insights into where St. Lucians come from, who they are as a people, and how they became who they are. If so, then readers are in for a treat, because The Stall Keeper provides deep insights into the forces that have shaped Vieux Fort; it speaks to the very character of the town, and throws light on long unanswered questions about why Vieux Fort is the way it is.
Unsurprisingly, The Stall Keeper has garnered much praise. For example, CARICOM economist and diplomat, Peter Lansiquot, said: “The Stall Keeper should be read by every Saint Lucian man, woman, child and professor of literature! … This delectable bowl of hot, steaming Lucian bouillon, spiced up with canelles and calaloo … crafted by the most articulately exciting Lucian craftsman of the written word I have met to date, takes Vieux Fort by the neck and shakes it vigorously, releasing into the breezy Iyanolan atmosphere all of Vieux Fort’s idiosyncrasies … made me laugh, giggle, ponderous, sad and glad, all at once … made me immensely proud to be Lucian!” In Dr. Reynolds, St. Lucia has produced another writer of the calibre, or of even deeper essence than Nobel Laureate V. S. Naipaul.“
Born and raised in Vieux Fort, St. Lucia, Anderson Reynolds holds a Ph.D. in Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida. In recent years, Dr. Reynolds has emerged as one of St. Lucia’s most prominent and prolific writers. His first book, the novel, Death by Fire, won the 2001 M&C main award for literature. His second, The Struggle for Survival: an historical, political and socioeconomic perspective of St. Lucia, won a 2003 M&C prize for prose. An earlier unpublished version of The Stall Keeper won the 2012 National Arts Award for prose. The author’s featured articles in St. Lucian magazines and newspapers won him a 2001 M&C literature award for creative journalism, and similarly a 2006 National Arts Award. The Stall Keeper along with Dr. Reynolds‘ journalistic pieces on Vieux Fort have established him as one of the island’s foremost authority on Vieux Fort ’s socioeconomic history.
On Sunday 28 October, Dr. Reynolds will be back in New York to do a book signing at the St. Lucia House as part of New York’s Jounen Kweyol Celebrations.
Next year, the author will be publishing his fourth book, the memoir, My Father Is No Longer There, to be followed by an international tour.
Following are links to reports on Dr. Reynolds 2017 International Book Tour
Toronto
Atlanta
Washington DC
New York
London
Connecticut