Annie John

A haunting and tragicomic tale of the end of childhood, Annie John is told with Jamaica Kincaid�_Ts trademark candour and complexity, and is a true coming-of-age classic. An adored only child growing up in Antigua, Annie has until recently lived a peaceful and content life. She is inseparable from her beautiful mother, a powerful and influential presence, who sits at the very centre of the little girl�_Ts existence. Loved and cherished, Annie grows and thrives within her mother�_Ts shadow. When she turns twelve, however, Annie�_Ts life changes, in ways that are often mysterious to her. She begins to question the cultural assumptions of her island world; at school she makes rebellious friends and frequently challenges authority; and most frighteningly, her mother, seeing Annie as a �_~young lady�_T, ceases to be the source of unconditional adoration and takes on the new and unfamiliar guise of adversary. Part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the best of modern literature.