Critical Essay on the Novel Never Far From Nowhere


Introduction: Never far from Nowhere is a novel that shows us the real problems of family life and all the difficulties that two little girls, named Vivien and Olive, daughter’s of a Jamaican couple have to face in England, in the late 1970’s.
Just at the beginning of the text, we notice a distinction between both sisters. When Vivien says that: “But I had a light skin- a high color… Olive was darker. Black”. Besides that distinction there are also, inside their family, discrimatory acts and distinctions between the two sisters.
Vivien is much more loved and gets a lot more of attention from their mother than Olive. We notice this, when on page six, Olive says the following: “Vivien’s the lucky one-always has been. She never had it hard as me.” Moreover, the text shows us the huge disparity between them and their perspectives of life. For instance, if Olive got home later at night, her mother would yell at her and would run after her to beat her, but if the same thing happened with Vivien, she would not say anything.
However, it is not only inside her house that Olive faces discrimination for being a black girl. At school, also, she has to deal with it, and she says it openly, on page 24: “I thought it was a right stuffy place. Strict uniform. You’d see the girls in their hats… And no black girls. All white. So I knew… I’d be odd.”
We know from the text that Olive was not a beloved child and that her father- Newton Charles, just like her mother, did not show any affection to their daughter: “When I was small, really small, he used to hit me with his slipper.” (page 38). After this, a little bit further in the text, she says: “He never hit Vivien. Not once”
Olive is a determined and rebellious girl, who wants to get her independence and to get out of her mother’s house, since their relation is not so good. She meets a men called Peter, with whom she has sexual relations and gets pregnant, when she was only eighteen-years old.
In the 1970’s ,as we know, relationships with the opposite sex were very important to young adults. Friendships and romances, however, were all too often blighted by ignorance, embarrassment and mutual misunderstanding. Olive faces this problem of ignorance of sexual life, since her mother had never told her anything about it. Olive desires to constitute her own family. That’s her dream and her main scope.
So, she marries with Peter. Firstly, because before they got married, he was kind to her. Secondly, because she thinks that he will always support her and finally because she wants to have her autonomy to make her own choices. But after marriage she becomes aware that her dreams are turning to nightmares, as Peter becomes another person, completely different from what he was when they were dating.
Besides this, their marriage got worse, when Amy- their daughter- was born, since they were not capable of facing this new reality in their lives. That is, they are going to be parents and they are too much young to carry out the difficult task of bringing up their little daughter in a wealthy environment.
Once more, we notice the lack of love and caring inside that family. Especially Peter, who does not cherish his wife and daughter. He doesn’t bear Amy’s crying and all the noise she makes during the night. He doesn’t help Olive to take care of the baby. Peter doesn’t share the responsibility of keeping house with his wife. In fact, he may be considered a tourist inside that house and inside that family.
And we all know how difficult it is to look after a baby all day. That is the reason why we understand Olive’s desperation as she feels alone inside that house. She has no help either from her mother, from Vivien and nor even from her husband: “There was no one to talk to, no one to ask anything.”(Page 101).
Moreover, Peter starts to criticize the way Olive raises Amy, saying that she is spoiling their daughter with so much care. In his opinion, experience is the best teacher children can have, and she need not run after her all the time. He finds olive isn’t capable of teaching Amy right: “Peter started getting ideas about bringing up children. He went on about how I shouldn’t say no to Amy. How I should try and explain things to her instead…” (Page 112).
Naturally, as Olive and Peter had been living with Olive’s mother since their marriage, the relation between Peter and Rose got worse. Olive’s mother is an authoritarian person who is always giving orders and trying to control other people’s lives. Peter does not enjoy living there and he bluntly tells Rose Charles that he does not want anybody interfering in Amy’s education: “Stop interfering; it’s none of your business” (Page 113).
Afterwards, on the same page, Olive’s mother answers Peter and tells him: “It is my business when you live in my house”. Rose wanted to take a role in her granddaughter’s upbringing, because she was aware that Amy wasn’t getting an adequate upbringing, as her parents were too young and had no experience at all of taking care of a child.
Olive’s mother does not show any affection for her daughter, not even after Amy is born. For example, many times, Olive does not know how to deal with the baby, and her mother refuses to help her, saying that it is her responsibility now. And if she wanted a child, she would have to know how to take care of her daughter.
Just like her sister, Vivien also has to face discrimination. At school, there is a well-marked distinction between the A-girls and the other girls; between Georgina and Vivien. This is exemplified in the text: “… Georgina looked at her teacher and with a dead serious face said- Well my mother’s very ill, very ill indeed. The teacher let her go. When it came to my turn I got the usual detention” (Page 117).
Envy also plays a role in this novel. There is the envy that Vivien’s colleagues feel of each other. But, the most important feeling of envy is the one Olive feels of Peter. She starts to envy Peter, because he can make Amy smile and she realizes that love her father more than her.
In conclusion, this novel shows us how difficult it is to constitute a family, where everybody loves and is loves. What really matters in a marriage is love and companionship. Without them no marriage can last.