In the late 1940s and early 50s, notorious gangster turned pirate Boysie Singh terrorised Port of Spain and the Gulf of Paria. Boysie and his gang transported human cargo from Trinidad and Tobago to Venezuela, robbing their victims and dumping their bodies in the sea. He was hanged for murder in 1957.
Four female characters narrate Ingrid Persaud’s evocative novel about the rise and fall of the Indian mobster. Mana Lala, Boysie’s childhood sweetheart, bears him a son, and waits, hopelessly, for him to marry her. Popo, a prostitute, helps him launch his gambling house career and dares to cross him. Doris is the Catholic beauty (and social climber) Boysie marries, while Rosie, his first friend, owns a local rum shop and bar.
The women’s relationships with Boysie make for a fascinating story, and Persaud creates a memorable supporting cast of characters who drink, gossip and betray one another. A “barefoot, raggedy child”, Boysie becomes a fisher when he is “barely out of short pants”. He makes his fortune after opening a series of gambling shops and gains renown as “the Rajah, king of Port of Spain, rent collector, pirate, gambling lord, big-time pimp, ole thief, badjohn, stick fighter”.
One of the joys of reading Persaud, who won the Costa first novel award in 2020 for her exceptional debut, Love After Love, is the opportunity to become immersed in the Trinidadian dialect. Each of her characters has a distinctive voice: Rosie refers to loose tongues as “like people eat parrot bottom”, while Mana Lala describes the calm after a fight as “boiled down like bhagee”.
Persaud is also good on the social hierarchies of the island pre-independence. Money buys Boysie status but, as Mana Lala observes, “even if he doesn’t feel Indian that was what everybody sees”. Doris may stand out in a crowd as a “red woman” with curves, but fails to be accepted by the high society she craves. Persaud’s characters linger long after the final pages of this epic, sometimes harrowing, tale.
The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh by Ingrid Persaud is published by Faber (£18.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
