Description

Paradise Once is a sweeping historical novel that brings to life the resiliency of the indigenous Ta?no people of the Caribbean, whose culture was virtually destroyed within two generations of their discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

In 1513 in Cuba, an entire village is wiped out by Spanish forces for no discernible reason. Had the villagers offended their spiritual guidesthe cem?esas one faction claimed, by incorporating foreign practices?

Four youthful survivors escape the massacrethree indigenous and one African runaway. They start off on separate perilous paths, not knowing they have been chosen by the cem?es to carry out a sacred missionto ensure the survival of a Sacred Bundle that will enable a Ta?no revival in future generations. But first, an epic spiritual battle must be played out.

In this love song to the Caribbean, Olive Senior authentically evokes the physical and spiritual worlds of its First Peoples and the survivorsindigenous and Africanwho will become the resistance fighters known in history as Cimarrones or Maroons.

Author: Olive Senior
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Akashic Books, Ltd.
Published: 06/03/2025
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9781636142272
Language: English