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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.
eunicek82's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Really twisted and dark. Think Lord of the Flies meets pirates. This is what happens when a group of children are under-supervised by a group of pirates and as you can imagine, things do not go well. I think it’s a pretty shocking meditation on the resilience and adaptability of children. I also thought it was probing at who exactly should be held accountable in this scenario, the parents, the pirates, the children?? I think this could be applied on a larger scale.
evancdent's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75