Caribbean by James A. Michener
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Book Reviews of Caribbean
Book Review: JUST OKAY, MICHENER ON HIS DOWNWARD SLIDE
Summary: 3 Stars
I picked this up hoping it would be like CENTENNIAL--which I thoroughly enjoyed. Though JM focuses on the Caribbean he does not stick with a family or families as he has in the past. There are only tenuous threads to connect the chapters. I would say the book gets better as it moves along but I still found it disappointing over all. Many of the chapters were interesting and compelling, but just as it was building up the chapter ended and it was on to new characters on a different island.Book Review: Pretty Good Writing, Dry and Boring Book
Summary: 2 Stars
Though I do not doubt Michener's writing capabilities, I find that as I continue to trudge through this so called historical novel, two stars is as much as I can give this book without doubting my own taste of literature. Having recently read amazing works of historical fiction such as: THE BRUCE TRILOGY, by Nigel Tranter, and ALEXANDER, by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, CARIBBEAN simply does not compete. While the writing can be quite descriptive, any attempts at making the plot remotely interesting fall short. Just as soon as the reader begins to get interested in the storyline, the chapter ends and within the turn of a page you find yourself at least a hundred years into the future, with yet another dull plot. In terms of historical accuracy, the book follows the timeline of events in a satisfactory way, yet the chapters, which are essentially short stories, tend to focus on the lives and troubles of fictional characters. It seems that the book is more like a chore than an enjoyable novel, and attempts at romance and battle description are almost laughable. Characters react to events in predictable ways. Influencial thought is absent. Accurate only half the time. What am I reading? This book is a waste of a tree! It is boring and history is followed in a jagged line. Have I said enough? If you are currently reading this book I advise tou to spare yourself. If you are looking for a top quality novel, historical or not,or a book with at least a limited amount of inspiration try one of the following, where exciting plot is evident, to say the least: DON QUIXOTE, by Miguel de Cervantes, TIDES OF WAR, by Steven Pressfield, THE WALLACE, by Nigel Tranter, THE BRUCE TRILOGY, by Nigel Tranter, ALEXANDER, by Valerio Massimo Manfredi, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, By J.R.R. Tolkien, THE CHARTERHOUSE OF PARMA, by Stendahl, and many more, which I have yet to read, which are most likely better than the one I have thankfully stopped wasting my time with.Book Review: The book was mostly just boring.
Summary: 2 Stars
A few of the chapters were interesting. I liked the ones about slave revolts, but the rest were about people talking about war, the sugar interest, or other VERY boring things. I had to read this book for school and was supposed to take notes, but the book was so boring that I couldn't find the main idea of many chapters. The most interesting characters in the book didn't even exist and the historical ones were hardly even mentioned. For a historically acurate book, Caribbean is hardly acurate and I would not read this one just for fun.Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
Before reading this book, I read Michener's Hawaii. Because Hawaii was an absolute masterpiece and my favorite novel ever, I was really excited to read Caribbean and had huge expectations. So imagine my surprise when I found the book really boring! I could hardly read it and just skimmed through much of it and finished it just to get it over with. I hear Mexico is pretty much the same. Chesapeake was ok. If you want great Michener books, read Centennial and Hawaii, especially Hawaii. But skip Caribbean. It is very long and very boring.