Augustown: A Novel

The narrator introduces and explains the term “autoclaps.” It’s from the Jamaican dialect and means “an impending disaster, calamity, trouble on top of trouble” (157). Another person might say it means “heart collapse.” Most Jamaicans would agree that it comes from the Biblical term “apocalypse,” meaning the end of the world. However, the narrator argues that it actually comes from a 14th-century English word, “afterclap,” meaning “an unexpected, often pleasant sequel to a matter that had been considered closed” (158).

Beverly Hills is an affluent area of Jamaica near Augustown. The houses in that neighborhood are large mansions, contrasting with the small, concrete houses of the suburb Mona, which is right below Beverly Hills. Mrs. G, the principal of Augustown Primary, lives in Beverly Hills with her wealthy husband Mr. Garrick. She struggles in her role as principal; she loved teaching and finds administrative work banal and less fulfilling. Mr. Garrick pushed her to apply for the job because he felt that her role as a teacher in a poverty-stricken elementary school lowered his social status. Since she misses teaching, Mrs. G has started teaching their domestic helper named Miss G, who is later revealed to be Gina, Kaia’s mother and Ma Taffy’s niece.