The White Woman on the Bicycle by Monique Roffey
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
Pages: 437
Release Date: 6th July 2009
5 Stars
The White Woman on the Green Bicycle is a heartbreaking story of isolation and political unrest. It is superb in its presentation of post-colonial Trinidad and the disappointment of a nation.
The novel is actually split into two parts, and although the first part gives you the facts of the past, the second gives you a spectrum of emotion. The green bicycle represents freedom and ignorance, and the intertwined story of George and Sabine’s married life is devastating in itself. Sabine struggles with the cultural barriers that Trinidad poses and Roffey crafts this perfectly, adding the oppression of the novel’s heat. There is something spell-binding the novel, which tore me between the lushiousness and cultural beauty of Trinidad and the desperation of Sabine.
I was initially unsure about the subject of this novel because I have never read anything like this type of post-colonial literature, but it completely sucked me in; it’s like an exquisite blanket, with every plot thread placed skilfully.