The Elect
Palmist Village in Trinidad has a rich mixture of Hindus, Muslims and Christians living side by side, happy to let each other be. But when Pastor Goberdan, local representative of an American fundamentalist church, comes to convert the 'heathen', things fall apart.
Price
£7.99
Author(s)
Sharlow Mohammed
ISBN number
9780948833434
Pages
172
Price
£7.99
Classification
Fiction, Novel
Country setting
Trinidad and Tobago
Publication date
01 Jul 1994

A bitter struggle for the soul of Palmist begins as the new converts project their guilts and paranoias onto those who resist. For the Elect, the works of Satan are everywhere, and indeed, as the old 'heathen' restraints are cast aside, and as Goberdan's prurient obsession with the flesh taints his flock, an orgy of sexual jealousy, greed and revenge erupts in the village.

The Elect is is a timely and abrasive satire on the new imperialism of the fundamentalist Christian sects of North America which have swept through the Caribbean, claiming an exclusive possession of the truth, demanding absolute obedience from their followers and threatening the cultural independence of the region.

Sharlow(e) Mohammed was born in the village of Longdenville in the agricultural area of central Trinidad in 1949.

Variations

Sharlow Mohammed

Sharlow(e) Mohammed was born in the village of Longdenville in the agricultural area of central Trinidad in 1949. He attended the Longdenville Government School where his commitment to writing was nurtured. Secondary school was, he says, ‘a waste of four years’ except for the English classes. After school he worked at a succession of jobs, including boilerman, fireman and office work. He then went to night classes to extend his education. Thereafter, supported by his wife, he began to write full-time.
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