Land of Love and Drowning

Land of Love and Drowning is a historical novel with touches of magical realism by Tiphanie Yanique. First published in 2014 by Riverhead, the book follows three generations of a Virgin Islands family who must use their unique magic to survive times of great uncertainty. The book won numerous awards including the 2014 Centre for Fiction First Novel Prize and the 2015 Rosenthal Family Foundation Award. Yanique is a bestselling writer who taught Creative Writing & Caribbean Literature at Drew University. In 2010, the Boston Globe listed her as a major cultural figure to watch out for. Land of Love and Drowning is her debut.

Land of Love and Drowning takes place on the Virgin Islands between 1916 and the early 1970s. When the book begins, the Virgin Islands has recently been transferred from Danish to American rule; it is a time of political and social turmoil for the Islanders. The book follows the Bradshaw family as they struggle with a fractured sense of identity and what it means to be American.

The first character we meet is Owen Arthur Bradshaw. His daughter, Eona, is the most beautiful girl on the island of St Thomas. Although Owen hates to admit it, he is sexually attracted to Eona and wants a physical relationship with her. His wife, Antoinette, doesn’t know anything about his feelings towards Eona. All she knows is that their other daughter, Anette, is unattractive, and it will be difficult to marry her off when she has a sister like Eona.



Antoinette admits that Anette was a mistake. Much younger than Eona, she was a failed abortion. Antoinette asked a local medicine woman, Rebekah, for a tonic to cleanse her of Anette, but it didn’t work; she was born anyway. Antoinette suspects that the tonic caused Anette’s ugliness, but she doesn’t tell Anette any of this.

One day, Owen and Eona sleep together. Though it is a consensual relationship, it turns Eona’s pubic hairs silver. Antoinette is disgusted when she finds out about the relationship. She doesn’t want to sleep with Owen anymore, but he still expects sex from her. Owen hopes that by sleeping with Antoinette more often, he will stop obsessing about Eona, but nothing takes away his love for her.

Desperate to stop fantasizing about his daughter, Owen sends Eona away to Tortola. Here, she meets Louis Moreau, a wealthy Frenchman who falls for Eona at first sight. Although Eona doesn’t love Louis, Owen tells her to marry him. She never speaks to her father again.



Meanwhile, Anette meets Jacob Esau McKenzie. She falls for him and hopes to marry him one day. What she doesn’t know is that Jacob is her half-brother. Owen slept with Rebekah, the medicine woman, and she gave birth to Jacob. Antoinette doesn’t know how to tell Anette this because it might be her only shot at love and happiness.

Owen and Antoinette die from old age. To protect Anette from incest, Eona sends her to St. Croix to finish her schooling. Anette refuses to go, deliberately missing the boat headed for the island. When Anette falls sick with a fever, Eona thinks this is punishment for denying Eona’s wishes.

Anette recovers and meets Ronald. Ronald is infatuated with Anette at first sight, but Anette doesn’t return his feelings. She marries him anyway because she realizes that Jacob doesn’t love her as much as she cares for him. Eona is relieved that there is no more incest.



Anette soon becomes pregnant with Ronald’s child. In the meantime, Jacob realizes that he loves her after all, but it’s too late now. Jacob need not worry, though, because Anette later tells Ronald that she doesn’t love him anymore. She gives him a divorce letter because she plans to look for a new man. She meets Jacob again and they become intimate.

Horrified by Anette’s indecency, Eona leaves for St Croix after splitting from her husband. She sleeps with different men, eventually becoming pregnant. She falls for Kweku, but he doesn’t love her and makes her feel insignificant. Despite feeling unloved, Eona doesn’t want to return to St Thomas or her sister.

In the meantime, Anette has a threesome with Jacob and Ronald. Rebekah finds out about the sexual relationship and makes Jacob attend medical school in America. Heartbroken, Anette is comforted to know that they will marry when he returns. Eona eventually returns home devastated after she has a stillbirth.



Meanwhile, Anette meets Franky. He loves Anette and proposes to her numerous times. Anette doesn’t want Franky, but she doesn’t hear from Jacob anymore. Worried that Jacob won’t come home, she agrees to marry Franky. Jacob finds out about the marriage and decides to stay in America.

Some time passes and Jacob finally returns. Now a married gynecologist, he still loves Anette. Anette loves him, too, but she is committed to Franky and their life together. Eona is happy because Anette never needs to know the truth about Jacob. Feeling that Anette is safe now, Eona goes to live on St. John’s Island to start a new life.