Caribbean by James A. Michener
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Book Reviews of Caribbean
Book Review: To understand the Caribbean, start, but don't stop, here...
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book to familiarize myself with the history of the area while visiting. It's a fairly easy read, just ridiculously long (yet I feel it still wasn't long enough to cover everything it should have). This is my first Michener read.
What I enjoyed most was the sea battle and pirate section. They were an adventure and now I can see why people like pirates so much - I never quite understood the romanticism attached to them before, only the terror. A huge component of this was being given a detailed background of the movements of the Spanish fleet as well as the industry & attitude of the budding colonial islands immediately beforehand, which allowed me to fully appreciate the situation.
I think this is where the rest of the book fails. I feel it does not provide adequate background for it's black, mixed or non-white characters, and their voices and characterization fall flat. I was also extremely dissatisfied with the first two chapters on Arawak and Maya life, which seemed very forced and uninspired to me. Since I read this book to get a little history and feel for the place, and since I only encountered black or mixed people on my visit to the Caribbean, it appears there was much lacking in this telling of the Caribbean story.
However, I did learn many other things and was able to gain a little more perspective on history I already knew about the colonial European powers, so it was definitely not a complete loss. Perhaps the reason many of the main characters were written as outsiders looking in was because that is what Michener was, simply an outsider, armed with an armada of historical publications and research, looking in. In reality, Michener is doing our job for us... researching and delivering, in an entertaining way, 700 years of history in a convenient 800 small pages. Honestly that is not an easy feat, and I applaud his efforts. Instead of complaining more about the perspectives this book lacks, I should seek them out from the history books and Caribbean authors myself, to which Michener provides ample references at the end of his book.
In conclusion, the book gives a good overview of the European history in the region and a snapshot of its "current" situation (c 1980's). It also gave me a useful feel for the historical time line and geographical orientation of the islands. I found it easy and interesting to read and would recommend it to an outsider looking for a place to start understanding the Caribbean...
Book Review: Fascinating Sweep
Summary: 4 Stars
In this novel , Michener takes us throught he ages in the magnifficent Caribbean. While it may be an exaggeration to refer to the Caribbean as a microcosm of the world , it is certainly a rich and diverse and fascinating region , it's tropical beauty matched by it's vibrant and interesting people.
Beginning on the island of Dominica , where the Arawaks, a beautiful , gentle and cultured people where displaced by the fierce and warlike Caribs , it continues through the adventures in the Caribeean of Christopeher Columbus , the great pirate admirals like Francis Drake , the struggles of the Spanish , French , British , Dutch and Engish over these islands, the cruelty of slavery , and the equally savage slave uprisings , how the turbulence of the English Civil War and the French Revolutions reached these islands , right up to the challenges of the present day , including a chapter about the Rastafari movement , and about the tyranny on Cuba of Fidel Castro , and the Cuban exile community in Miami. The book also covers a fictional island called All Saints.
While slow in parts , it is overall a fascinating and entertaining read.
Book Review: A book of epic proportions - literally!
Summary: 4 Stars
Reader beware - 800 plus pages, so this is no book for story time. Extremely prolific, James A. Michener writes as only he can write about the Caribbean, that vast expanse of ocean surrounded by Cuba, Puerto Rico and the extensive small islands smattered across the seascape. This is a powerful history of these islands, and James Michener takes us from the 1300s when a peaceful tribe of Arawaks are horribly destroyed all the way to Castro's Cuba. This is the sort of book one would do better learning about this area from, as the author weaves plot upon plot into a brilliantly masterminded historical novel. You will learn more from this book about the Caribbean Sea and its islands than any history or geography class could give you, and you will have more fun doing it! I gave it four stars simply because with a book this size, there was bound to be some dreadfully boring parts, and there were. If it were a bit shorter in length it would lack nothing but a Pulitzer.Book Review: A Bit Disappointing
Summary: 4 Stars
This book started out very strong, but about half way through it seeemed to skip around a bit. I really liked the first part because of the history of the Spanish Main, pirates and swashbucklers and big battles at sea. That is my bias. I love stories about the sea and especially from the seventeen hundreds. But as the time in the story got closer to the twentieth century I found the book skipped around quite a bit. It did touch on the various islands and gave background on each but I searched for and didn't find that common thread that is usually so apparent in Michener's books. In spite of that I would recommed this book. It is totally fascinating when you consider the history in this tranquil but tumultous place.Book Review: Modern Art
Summary: 4 Stars
This novel started off very strong; also with strong expectations after just completeting the "Chesapeak" in just a week since it was so gripping and enthralling. The Caribbean was weaker, seamed to jump around. At one point in the book it was at a very interesting segment in which Michener spoke of the Spanish main and indeed very interesting. Although when I was very cought up in this chapter all of a sudden a new chapter with a totally new subject matter began. This book is seems to be an anthology of Michener short stories with the only common denominator being the Caribbean. A fine book, although not as good as his others. If they had a three and a half star rating I would award it that.