Bermuda?s slowly expanding collection of literary works has gained a recent edition in the newly released collection of short stories, ?A Ballad of Orange Valley?, penned by longtime Bermuda resident Rawle Frederick.

Mr. Frederick, a lecturer at the Bermuda College, originally hails from Trinidad and was educated in Canada. He also lived in Tanzania for three years during the 1970s where he worked as a teacher. These experiences have gifted him with a multicultural perspective which has clearly influenced his writing. In his latest book of short stories, ?A Ballad of Orange Valley?, this cultural flexibility translates into a diverse cast of African, Caribbean, Bermudian, American, and Canadian characters in settings as diverse as the landscapes of Mr. Frederick?s imagination.

?A Ballad of Orange Valley? is a compilation of seven short stories written by Mr. Frederick whose previous work includes a book of short stories entitled ?The Vendor of Dreams & Other Stories? and a collection of poetry entitled ?Trans Atlantic Cargo?. His work has also appeared in other compilations produced by the Bermuda Writers? Collective, Palmetto Wine and An Isle So Long Unknown.

The stories contained in ?A Ballad of Orange Valley? explore themes surrounding issues of race, the neo-colonial condition, migration, and ?belonging? in Africa, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. However, the compilation contains three primary flaws from a literary perspective: weaknesses in character development, dialogue, and formulaic metaphors.

In terms of the dialogue, quite often it wasn?t immediately evident which of the characters was actually speaking. The problems with dialogue were noticeable in the five Bermuda/island-based stories, but even more jarring in the other two tales because of an added linguistic element. For example, the stories which focus on African themes, ?Mkutano Mzungu? and ?Swahili Sonata?, contain several dialogues in Swahili and Arabic. Although I understand the importance of retaining some words in a particular language, especially when the entire meaning doesn?t translate well into English, the Swahili and Arabic dialogues in these two stories seem mostly unnecessary. It?s distracting for the reader to attempt to translate entire sentences, particularly since quite a few of the words do not appear in the Selected Glossary at the back of the book.

The second issue is that of formulaic metaphors. At the risk of spoiling some of the conclusions, a few of the stories seemed to go in very predictable directions and the characters seem to ?discover? themselves in very predictable ways. This was particularly evident in ?Caf? Sainte Famille? where an interracial break-up is capped with the hackneyed metaphor of inauthentic hearts ?already start[ing to tarnish?.

Likewise, too many characters seem to identify themselves through sexual liaisons, particularly bi-racial/bi-cultural ones. It?s the classic post-colonial issue, but it?s a bit too familiar to be continually reworked here.

Lastly, the fictional individuals in many of these stories seem to be sketches rather than fully developed characters. This is a common pitfall for short story writers; it?s simply very difficult to create compelling, fully-fleshed characters in such a limited narrative space. However, it?s essential in any story excluding perhaps the genres of comedy and satire. If the story is aiming to be dramatic or poignant, the reader must understand the character enough to care about and relate to that character. Otherwise, it will fall a bit flat which happens in some of the tales in ?A Ballad of Orange Valley?.

However, despite these criticisms, the average reader will find the tales interesting and entertaining. Local readers will especially appreciate ?Polling? and the title story ?A Ballad of Orange Valley? ? the experiences, expressions, and characters depicted will strike a chord. There are so few Bermudians and Bermuda residents attempting to take up the very difficult challenge of describing our reality in this ?isle so long unknown?, and Mr. Frederick?s efforts to this effect are to be commended.