Caribbean: A Novel Paperback – December 13, 2005

If you have read and like michener, this is a classic (my personal favorite). If you have not, classic michener means that he takes a very in-depth, well researched area and wraps a novel around it. In Carribean, he looks at the evolution from the Mayan times to the modern, covering the cultures, the facts and the myths. What makes it fun is the way he wraps his exhaustive research of the facts into the regions myths and a set of characters. This makes the novels fun and interesting, because even though the people are ficticious, one identifies more with the stories of people than a textbook approach to the facts.The chapters, dealing with different historical periods, focus on various sub-regions as they wane and wax in power and importance. It particularly appealed to my interest in history and frankly may be tiresome to those who do not have the same passion for history (ie, if you don't like historical accounts, you may not like this book!)Oh, yes, there are pirates, human sacrefice, and you learn where the term barbeque comes from...you may not want to know that!

My interest in reading this novel by Michener was spurred by a former shipmate who served on a U.S. Naval Destroyer Escort with me in the Caribbean area a half century ago. As a matter of fact, much of my three and a half years on that ship I was called upon to plot courses and speeds through the Windward and Seaward Passages, stopping often at other major islands such as Cuba to take on fuel, pick up mail, etc. We were very much taken by the music and the day to day lives of the various peoples there. My last visit to the area was a year ago, as a matter of fact, when I traveled to the Island of Saba ( now an over-sea part of the Netherlands) with a grandson who is a geologist and a scuba-diver. I was interested to find out what the author of this novel had to say. The story lines are good, helping to "flesh out" the earlier histories through various family representatives of early characters and dynasties in the work. I found this to be a clever means by which the changes could be seen to have taken place over the centuries. I confess that I can not understand why Mr.Michener felt that it was necessary to "invent" an Island in his "All Saints",for even if it might show how a former French island could have become British, there is ample evidence of this in so many other instances. I admit that it provided the author with a means by which he could use the persona of an American Newspaper reporter to act as something of an alter-ego, but the author manages usually in such works to find ways in which to do this anyway and without further "invention". Perhaps the reference to a Pre-World War II British Governor General who was decidedly pro-Nazi served to save the author from making reference to the late Duke of Windsor (A.K.A. the King Edward VIII who had abdicated to marry an American divorcee' ) sent as Governor General to Nassau. I do not know. In fact, I was a bit disappointed that the author had not made reference to this. Mr.Michener makes some rather interesting observations regarding the various types of government under the flags of different European governments, zeroing in on mainly the Spanish, the French and the English, and while some of these evaluations might be written off as conjecture or generalizations, I felt that he had labeled them rather much as I would have done.His observations of Haiti, painful as they are to read, I found to be quite as I found them to be. Haiti was a Hell Hole fifty years ago ,when they still had some of their forests and today I cannot begin to imagine the poverty of that land. Yet, mention is made quite well in the person of Therese, a Haitian woman who is articulate, poised and well-read, and of what a superior human being she is. I too have met some Haitians who have come out of that pitiful land who are indeed quite spectacular. I had wondered for years how that could be possible. The author does not answer the question, nor does he attempt to do so, yet one comes away with the feeling: "There is always hope!". The same can be said of the assessment of Cuba, both before and since the revolution. As I recall, life under Batista was pretty difficult for Cubans, life under Castro might be grim, but one is left to wonder whether the Cuban exiles in Florida are not standing in the way of any real change between the governmental relations between the U.S. and Castro's Cuba. The Caribbean is a lot of ground ( and sea!) to cover : ethnically, historically and governmentally. It can only be approached in a limited way. We who would try to describe the region are not unlike the ten blind men in the Aesop fable, who go forth to meet with an elephant and then to describe its nature. Each individual may see a part, but never the whole. I would have to say that I think the author sees at least several parts of that whole

I enjoyed the stories about the islands, and the author’s attempts to carry the generations through the narrative. Beautifully and colorfully written!

Great read

I love Michener and read this book because of my recent visits to the Caribbean, to Puerto Rico. In the past, I have visited St. John in the U.S.V.I. I found this book disjointed. I was shocked by the invention of an island that I kept researching until I finally figured it out. Nonetheless, I learned a lot of history. It was still worth it.

Ive read all Michener books and this is classic Michener…weaving together many story lines in an entertaining and evocative way. I gave it 4 stars tho rather than 5 because his insertian of a make-believe island, All Saints, blew the credibility imho. I mean, what fo’? However, Michener shines in his historical accounts and the book was very interesting until the 19th century, then it rather fizzled and became a bit preachy. Dont want to provide a spoiler but I WAS glad about the romantic denouement

I read this book so many years ago and I can say that it is always a great booked to grab once again with totally recommended for anybody who loves fictional history.

When I read Michener, I have applications and other reference material available. I refer to the references often and, in all cases, Michener is spot-on. One might argue, is it historical or fiction with the former out front by a mile. I love how he artfully explains through dialogue, custom and historical bullets a clear view of the past.I was entertained throughout. This book has certainly fueled a dormant passion to see Barbados. To carnival in Trinidad. To taste the wonders of Jamaica. This book - this journey was a fabulous trip back to my past travels and reminded me of the vastness of the Spanish lake splendor of the contrasting yet complimenting land. Well done James! Thank you.

Super

This is a book that never bores you and you learn so much history at the same time. Although some of the characters and the story lines are fictional the background information is true. It is a long book but it divides into separate stories relating to each Caribbean island. Shocking in places in the way people were treated. It is an insight into the beliefs at attitudes in society hundreds of years ago and more recently.

like it!

envío perfecto. En óptimas condiciones. Súper rápido

Good!