A review by alexlaurelhoffman
The Dragon Can't Dance by Earl Lovelace

4.0

This book was not easy to get into, nor was it an easy read, but it was lyrical and thought-provoking. Lovelace tells the story of a shanty town in the late 60s and early 70s in Trinidad. It is a sad story told by the different, clearly individuated voices of the town of Port of Spain, focusing primarily on Aldrick - the dragon. Aldrick spends all year crafting his dragon costume for Carnival - spending all his time not really living, as it were, for two days of life. He comes to realize, however, that there is more to life than two days of vitality, as do many of the other characters. Stuck in a poverty-stricken town where the beautiful women are destined to become whores and the men must either capitulate to the system and work very hard or try to keep up a rebellion that has lost its flame, the people of Port of Spain must find a vitality of their own - something to live for in the everyday.