I had started to read Richard Hughes's acclaimed 1929 novel a couple of times before, and it failed to take hold. This time was different. I could barely put it down. Exquisitely written, by turns funny, exciting, and quite deeply disturbing. Several children are kidnapped (maybe?) by pirates... adventure on the high seas and all that. The novel has been compared with Lord of the Flies in terms of its cynical depiction of children's a/im/morality, but Jamaica is ten times more subtle and well-written than what I remember of that book. The protagonist, ten-year-old Emily, is a character for the ages. As for her a/im/morality, along with that of the other kids and all the grownups around them... well, read it and judge for yourself.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment