A review by kaybiasotti93
Try Not to Be Strange: The Curious History of the Kingdom of Redonda by Michael Hingston

funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

Try Not To Be Strange is a fascinating work of literary and Caribbean history told with a quaint, romantic quality that makes it sound and feel like fiction but is in fact true. 

Redonda is a tiny island near Montserrat and under Antiguan governance (officially). In the late 1800s it is gifted to a teen boy, M.P Shiel, by his father, who makes the boy King of the island. Shiel largely ignores its existence, only mentioning the island by name once in his long writing career, but nevertheless names poet John Gawsworth as successor of this tiny, uninhabitable island "kingdom". Gawsworth, whose given himself the name King Juan I, turns it into a widespread inside joke: "Redonda under King Juan would be defined by a total, straight faced commitment to the bit." 

While the kingdom was of very little consequence to Shiel, Gawsworth takes his title and runs with it, even giving noble titles to his friends and contemporaries. The entire concept straddles the line between fiction and reality for over a century, with new kings being named and others claiming the throne the entire way. Flags (made of pyjamas) and a national anthem are even created, pushing Redonda closer to legitimacy and blurring the line even further. Redonda is so small and of so little consequence that the Antiguan government, for their part, lets the eccentric writers, artists, and academics have their fun. 

Overall, a spellbinding, lighthearted, fun read. Highly recommend!