The Stall Keeper

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 teamed up with Eugene and Ruben warmed his way into the heart of Eunice is a tale of magic mixed with tragedy. The Stall Keeper presents 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 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. The Stall Keeper is a contemplation of fate and the nature of success, and begs the question: how much is within our control?