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ajreader's review against another edition
3.0
Read my full thoughts on my blog.
"The key to High Wind lies in the infantile perspective. [The children's] innocence and self-absorption commands their worldview. Hughes does not tell the story directly from their viewpoint, thus allowing the reader some further understanding of the actual events taking place. Even still, the whole story is painted with their emotions and perceptions of people and events. Hughes spends significant time showing their emotional responses to the events surrounding them. This gives a simple adventure story an air of magic and childlike belief, couple with the darkness of losing one's innocence."
"The key to High Wind lies in the infantile perspective. [The children's] innocence and self-absorption commands their worldview. Hughes does not tell the story directly from their viewpoint, thus allowing the reader some further understanding of the actual events taking place. Even still, the whole story is painted with their emotions and perceptions of people and events. Hughes spends significant time showing their emotional responses to the events surrounding them. This gives a simple adventure story an air of magic and childlike belief, couple with the darkness of losing one's innocence."
dawnlizreads's review against another edition
2.0
This book is apparently now out of print (I had to buy my copy from an online second-hand bookshop; I was reading it for my book group) and it quickly becomes apparent why - it's really racist. Black people are referred to as "negroes" and are generally portrayed to be ignorant and childlike (with questionable morals). There's even one use of the "n" word. I know that this was written in less enlightened times (1929), but it makes for uncomfortable reading.
I am not sure if this is meant to be a children's book or an adult book that just happens to have children as the protagonists, but it certainly has dark themes. I'd certainly agree with the view that it's a precursor to Lord of the Flies (ie, what happens when usual social conventions are not enforced).
I am not sure if this is meant to be a children's book or an adult book that just happens to have children as the protagonists, but it certainly has dark themes. I'd certainly agree with the view that it's a precursor to Lord of the Flies (ie, what happens when usual social conventions are not enforced).
sverville's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent satire, very grotesque and very disturbing, but excellent all the same. Interesting portrayal of childhood, very different than the romantic view.
stat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
emilypeartree's review against another edition
1.0
Turns out this book is pretty heavy handed with its racism, even for a book written 100 years ago. Read (and enjoyed - Richard Hughes was a funny man) the intro and preface, but stopped dead after a few pages into the first chapter. Definitely not for me.
sarahdenn27's review against another edition
5.0
What a curious book. I still don't know entirely what to make of it, and I don't know if I'll figure that anytime soon. I was struck by Hughes' depictions of innocence and childhood. He certainly conveyed the randomness and strangeness of children that is often left out in romanticized versions of children. This was somehow a really beautifully written book and a grim and gruesome one as well. Some of the death in this book we shockingly violent and vivid, and I was genuinely uncomfortable and sad when the animals died or were being mistreated. Hughes' writing was beautiful and evocative, and I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this tale, despite its intense darkness and not so happy ending.
emilybryk's review against another edition
5.0
A confession: every now and then, when telling a story that took place some time ago, I find myself thinking "did that actually happen that way, or have I maybe changed it a little bit over time?" I'm not saying I'm a pathological liar, or even that I have an unusually shaky relationship with the truth. But it is (I think) not a unique situation.
Now. A High Wind in Jamaica isn't a story about an unreliable narrator. Actually, we have a merry, almost-childlike narrator who brings us and the Thorton children through an intentionally-capitalized Earthquake, abduction by pirates, various deaths and injuries, and the fairest trial anyone knows how to run. This isn't Lord of the Flies by any means -- the children aren't out to do harm and they're adapting to difficult circumstances as best they can. However. As we track the children's (and especially Emily's) reactions and behaviors, we see a gradual distortion of the truth taking place as clearly as in any book I can think of. And as innocently.
It's not an issue of the banality of evil or anything like that. It's an issue of small lies and small denials gradually building up and up and up in the most natural of ways. And it's possibly one of the best things I've read in ages.
Now. A High Wind in Jamaica isn't a story about an unreliable narrator. Actually, we have a merry, almost-childlike narrator who brings us and the Thorton children through an intentionally-capitalized Earthquake, abduction by pirates, various deaths and injuries, and the fairest trial anyone knows how to run. This isn't Lord of the Flies by any means -- the children aren't out to do harm and they're adapting to difficult circumstances as best they can. However. As we track the children's (and especially Emily's) reactions and behaviors, we see a gradual distortion of the truth taking place as clearly as in any book I can think of. And as innocently.
It's not an issue of the banality of evil or anything like that. It's an issue of small lies and small denials gradually building up and up and up in the most natural of ways. And it's possibly one of the best things I've read in ages.
gabo_rinaldi_33's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
matt_books's review against another edition
5.0
The story of a bunch of weird little kids who out-psychopath the pirates that kidnapped them just by being themselves. The narration has a tone unlike any I’ve encountered, alternating between the blissfully ignorant, demented headspace of little kids and the bewildered adults who try to make sense of their indecipherable behavior. Also preoccupied with the fallibility of memory and how seemingly random moments morph into foundational experiences that embed in our psyche, which is always cool, to me.