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A review by spacenoirdetective
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
3.0
This is a sort of "modernized" pirate tale, written in the 30's. The unabashed racism really kept me from enjoying it, but basically what it boils down to is a really concise and layered look at childhood, and how different perception is at an early age. The outcome of the novel is rather shocking and unexpected, and winds up being a meditation on sin, and the capability of humans to kill when they think it's necessary.
The ending is basically thus: one of the children (who have been accidentally travelling with pirates and thought dead, then kidnapped) is locked up and a drunk man comes in. In most likelihood, the man didn't intend her any harm, but he was kind of scary and so she basically stabs him to death. The other pirates basically wind up taking the blame for it. They protect her to the end, and wind up hanging for her crime. The last line says something like amongst other girls again she looked just like any other little girl. I guess that's what saves this novel from me hating it. I don't care for the author's personality when it came through, but the world he evokes is fascinating and harsh.
The ending is basically thus: one of the children (who have been accidentally travelling with pirates and thought dead, then kidnapped) is locked up and a drunk man comes in. In most likelihood, the man didn't intend her any harm, but he was kind of scary and so she basically stabs him to death. The other pirates basically wind up taking the blame for it. They protect her to the end, and wind up hanging for her crime. The last line says something like amongst other girls again she looked just like any other little girl. I guess that's what saves this novel from me hating it. I don't care for the author's personality when it came through, but the world he evokes is fascinating and harsh.