Bøger af Jonathan Skinner

Shortlisted - 2014 International Rubery Book Award Judges' comments: "A well written novel about a reclusive young man and the female assistant on his new computer. She's meant to be an instructor, but develops her own personality. It's a fast read with a good narrative hook on the very first line. The idea is deceptively simple but there is an underlying depth. It is a book with a lot of charm." Quarterfinalist - 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Agoraphobic Stuart Watson hasn't left his flat for two years, relying on the internet, his phone and a credit card for all contact with the outside world. But when his new PC arrives, Stuart is startled when Anna - the interactive on-screen assistant - responds to him in an amazingly lifelike manner. With Stuart housebound and Anna trapped in a job she hates - checking spellings and offering user help - the two soon develop a repartee. Stuart wins Anna's trust by making her window bigger and fiddling the system date on the PC so she can miss her time of the month. They become friends, and eventually fall in love - though not, unfortunately, at the same time. Of course pill-popping, wine-guzzling Stuart is imagining it all - or is he? In a bizarre rollercoaster battle of the sexes Stuart meets his match as Anna learns more about the real world, developing a taste for television soaps, yoga, and Jimmy Choo stilettos. But when Stuart finally needs to be rid of Anna and venture back to the outside world, she is more reluctant to disappear than he bargains for...

How is identity claimed, contested and sustained? This book looks at retentions, reconstructions and reverberations of identity in a colonial Caribbean setting. It is uncomfortable and impressionistic ethnography of life on the island of Montserrat leading up to and including the present day volcanic eruptions. It explores Montserrats existing colonial identity and emerging postcolonial identity drawing upon examples from local poets. Calypsonians and historians; controversial development and trade union struggles; and the impact of tourism and colonialism on the island Black Irish identity claims and the celebration and/or commemoration of St Patricks Day in particular. This book will appeal to Anthropologists, Sociologists, and Cultural Studies and Caribbean Studies scholars, as well as those involved in and concerned for the reconstruction of Montserrat the place and Monsrat the people.