---
title: "Two Days in Mayaro by Pamela Mordecai | Book Review"
description: "Two Days in Mayaro is a beautiful collection of stories about family, folklore, belonging, and the Jamaican diaspora. This collection of short stories is an absolute delight. Each story is a rich char..."
url: https://somisguided.com/2026/11/05/two-days-in-mayaro-by-pamela-mordecai-book-review/
date: 2026-11-05
modified: 2026-11-05
author: "Monique"
categories: ["Book Reviews"]
tags: ["canadian", "fiction"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# Two Days in Mayaro by Pamela Mordecai | Book Review

[![](https://somisguided.com/wp-content/uploads/two-days-in-mayaro-pamela-mordecai.png)](https://gooselane.com/products/two-days-in-mayaro?srsltid=AYCX9vLWygIat1IRQpZikvd9Af9LoOz2vWhUkXD2GpxMH4g8UX9MjMy3)

[Two Days in Mayaro](https://gooselane.com/products/two-days-in-mayaro?srsltid=AYCX9vLWygIat1IRQpZikvd9Af9LoOz2vWhUkXD2GpxMH4g8UX9MjMy3) is a beautiful collection of stories about family, folklore, belonging, and the Jamaican diaspora.

This collection of short stories is an absolute delight. Each story is a rich character study, full of humour, turmoil, history, contemporary madness, and the traditions of Jamaican storytelling. I enjoyed that each story offers a different perspective, a different voice, and a new little world to temporarily inhabit.

Many of the stories follow Jamaicans living in Toronto and navigating their complex family structures, and new surroundings, while remaining connected to their culture and traditions. There is the opening story about Alvin Ilk who really cannot stay still in school, and has been warned off getting involved in other people’s problems, but who steps up and save the day for a transit rider. There’s the story of two sisters arguing over Granny Didi’s chaise, as interpreted by their children–cousins who have to sort out the falling out. And one of my favourite stories, “Welcome, Winsome,” is about accommodating a cherished friend’s dietary restrictions.

> I decide it shall be the vegan pastry. I feeling good that I decide, only thing is, I also have a feeling that never mind the choosing is good, the choice is bad. You know the feeling in your belly bottom when you make up your mind to do something and you just know your mind don’t make up right.

The language throughout is so poetic and rhythmic. I loved the stories with duppies and Old Higue, which force the Jamaican spirits into the ordinary days of the protagonists. One duppy breaks a car window, another causes a veteran to fret uncontrollably. It’s a reminder that the stories we inherit are part of how we understand the world.

Mordecai is an excellent writer and I am so pleased the craft of the book matches her writing. The cover design is beautiful, the interior layout and font and quality of the paper is its own pleasure. The craft of Mordecai’s writing is complemented by the craft of the book itself.

If you enjoyed [Zalika Reid-Benta’s River Mumma](https://somisguided.com/2026/04/04/river-mumma-by-zalika-reid-benta-book-review/) or [Andrea Levy’s Small Island](https://somisguided.com/2011/03/20/book-review-the-long-song-by-andrea-levy/), there’s a lot here that you’ll appreciate, especially the connections between Caribbean identity, family lore, and the experience of living between cultures. That said, *Two Days in Mayaro* is also a book for anyone who loves storytelling itself: the way stories travel, change, entertain, and keep people connected across generations and geography.

I highly recommend this collection of short stories by Pamela Mordecai.

Seek this one out. It’s available directly from the publisher [Goose Lane](https://gooselane.com/products/two-days-in-mayaro?srsltid=AYCX9vLWygIat1IRQpZikvd9Af9LoOz2vWhUkXD2GpxMH4g8UX9MjMy3) or please support a fine bookshop near you.