Brother Man

Brother Man (1954) is a novel by Jamaican Roger Mais, about a Messianic folk Rastafarian healer, 'Bra' Man' (in dialect) John Power. The book is significant as the first serious representation of the Rastafari movement in literature. Mais foresaw the defining power of the Rasta movement to Jamaican society 20 years before the era of Bob Marley and Reggae mainstream.[1]

For other uses, see Brotherman (disambiguation).
Brother Man
First edition
AuthorRoger Mais
CountryJamaica
LanguageEnglish
PublisherJonathan Cape
Publication date
1954
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages191 pp

It is also significant as an exploration of life in the ghetto of Kingston. It shows how the people relate to leaders, both making them deities and throwing them away when they fail to entertain them. The novel is written in prose with a layout that is seemingly cinematic and episodic; little is done to describe the environment beyond the claustrophobic ghetto of 'The Lane' in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica.[2]

Plot summary

The plot follows the superstructure of Christ's story, with other characters resembling Mary Magdalene and other figures from his life. It uses this to explore conditions in the black ghetto of Kingston and the growth of the Rastafari movement.

Reception
gollark: I assume it's mostly just because it's a more recent issue, and possibly because it's smaller in scope and easier to deal with one than the others.
gollark: That works as a fully general counterargument for literally every problem except the worst one(s) that exist at some time.
gollark: I'm not sure how "some subgroup may end up able to shift the balance of sports rather a lot" is the same problem as "there exist many stupid people in America".
gollark: That seems like just another variation on the "other problems exist, so ignore this potential one" argument.
gollark: Those seem like oddly nuanced protest signs.

References
  1. "Roger Mais 'Brother Man' Knotty Dread steps forward", Jah Works
  2. "Brother Man Part ii", Imani blog, 2 January 2007


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