One of the comments made by the reviewer of George Lamming’s work, V. S. Pritchett was: “We are in the heart of a coloured or half-coloured community, sharing its sudden, unreasonable passions… its naïve illusions about the world outside” (qtd. in Brown 681). I believe that as many ambitious novels, In The Castle of My Skin is challenging to read and touches compound structures of meanings to decode. Coming of age novels often present sentiments common for all adults as they refer to certain nostalgy. In George Lamming’s case it is not that simple to interpret the novel especially if one comes from Commonwealth culture. Firstly, as the author analyses in The Pleasures of Exile (229),living in a colonial reality means to be detached from his own origin culture by imperialism. Caribbean people are mostly descendants of captive Africans and to many of them that continent is very close to their heart. In common speech, exile does indeed mean a physical absence being banned or unable to return to one’s land. David W. Hart defines this interior exile which might constitute "either an intellectual turn away from home or an emotional turn inward to the self" (qtd. in Wheat 5). G. is on a mental exile from his sense of belonging. As he grows older he detaches himself from his village and leaves to Trinidad. Meanwhile Trumper returns from the United States for a visit. Young men discuss the difference in reality and perspective of seeing oneself:
There ain’t no “man” an’ there ain’t no “people.” Just nigger an’ Negro. An’ little as that seem ‘tis a tremendous difference. It make a tremendous difference not to the whites but the blacks. ‘Tis the blacks who get affected by leavin’ out that word “man” or “people.” That’s how we learn the race. ‘Tis what a word can do. Now there ain’t a black man in all America who won’t get up and an’ say I’m a Negro an’ I’m proud of it. We all are proud of it.” (289)
It appears that the reality narrows down to the point of how an individual thinks about oneself. The feeling of inferiority might dictate one’s possibilities by limiting personal ambitions as well as potential. I perceive In The Castle of My Skin as a very intellectually stimulating and I believe that V. S. Pritchett’s impression lacks certain ability of co-feeling. The consciousness of all the unknown ahead existing might be at times paralysing as it requires to leave one’s known behind. This is the reason why the cultivation of one’s value and origin is essential for self-growth and being honest with oneself in accordance to one’s believes. In a larger spectrum it refers to the rebirth of the nation after colonialism. Calypso Rose, Trinidad musician when singing her beautiful song Calypso Blues reminds Caribbean women of their beauty and authenticity encouraging them not to be afraid of identifying with their culture not following foreign trends:
Dese yankee girl give me big scare,
Is black de root, is blonde de hair.
Her eyelash false, her face is paint,
And pads are where de girl she ain't
She jitterbug when she should waltz,
I even think her name is false.
But calypso girl is good a lot,
Is what you see, is what she got. (2:15)

Brown, Dillon J. “Exile and Cunning: The Tactical Difficulties of George Lamming.” Contemporary Literature, vol. 47, no. 4, 2006, pp. 669-694.
Calypso Rose. Calypso Blues. YouTube, uploaded by Calypso Rose, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPQ0PDi6m1k
Lamming, George. In The Castle of My Skin. Longman, 1987.
Lamming, George. The Pleasures of Exile. University of Michigan Press, 1992.
Wheat, Celeste A . “Examining Colonialism and Exile in George Lamming's In the Castle of My Skin (1953),The Emigrants (1954),and The Pleasures of Exile (1960) Journal of Colonialism & Colonial History”. Baltimore, vol. 10, no. 3, 2009.

One of the comments made by the reviewer of George Lamming’s work, V. S. Pritchett was: “We are in the heart of a coloured or half-coloured community, sharing its sudden, unreasonable passions… its naïve illusions about the world outside” (qtd. in Brown 681). I believe that as many ambitious novels, In The Castle of My Skin is challenging to read and touches compound...