Charts the history of a Spiritual Baptist community from the passing of the Prohibition Ordinance in 1917 until the lifting of the ban in 1951.

Earl Lovelace writes about the survival of a small community of Spiritual Baptists with a lyricism and understanding of dialogue which has established an international reputation. 'If we clap we hands and catch the Spirit, the police could arrest us. One day we was Baptist, the next day we is criminals.' The Wine of Astonishment is a poignant and devastating tale of the discrimination the Black community of Bonasse faced during the first half of the 20th century. Told from the perspective of a religious wife, Eva retells the torment and tribulations her family and friends endure at the hands of abusive police and corrupt government officials. Hurtling towards its tragic climax, Bolo's transformation embodies the tragedy manifested when a people are pushed too far.

THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT brings us a selection of thirteen stories containing a carnival house of characters: impetuous brides, immigrants struggling in a new land, suburban witches, rough and tumble low-life, a father "drunk on Tolstoy". A charming and magical book. Cuttingly real.

In Trinidad, in the wake of 1970's Black Power rebellion, we follow Sonnyboy, Singer King Kala, and their town's folk through experiments in music, politics, religion, and love--and in their day-to-day adventures. Humorous and serious, sad and uplifting, Is Just a Movie, is a radiant novel about small moments of magic in ordinary life. Earl Lovelace's books include While Gods Are Falling, winner of the BP Independence Award; the Caribbean classic The Dragon Can't Dance; and Salt, which won the 1997 Commonwealth Writers Prize. For Is Just a Movie, he has won the Grand Prize for Caribbean Literature by the Regional Council of Guadeloupe and the 2012 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.