A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes

Source of book: Audiobook from the library

 

This book is a classic from 1929, and was made into a movie in 1965, but it really isn’t that well known in the 21st Century United States. 

 

I will say, after reading it, I can see why it might have fallen out of favor. It is a book about children, told mostly from the children’s point of view, but definitely not a book for children. It is set in a previous era, when slavery had been abolished in the Caribbean, but colonialism remained. 

 

Oh, and it involves pirates and dead bodies and a shocking degree of amorality, not least by the children. It has enough shocking incidents that come out of nowhere to make it a bit of a traumatic read. 

 

Weirdly, the book is at least somewhat based on a real incident in the 1820s - although I suspect that the author of that story, like the children in this book, was somewhat of an unreliable narrator. 

 

But it also is quite a page turner, and a rather unique take on how humans respond to completely unexpected and impossible situations. 

 

I will warn of spoilers in this post. Sorry. Go read the book before you read on, unless you want to risk them. 

 

The title refers to the colloquial term for a hurricane. One occurs early in the book, and sets the stage for all the craziness that follows.

 

In the aftermath of the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean colonies, the great plantations fell to pieces, slowly, then all at once. (To steal from Hemingway…) A few of the white families hung on for a decade or two, growing poorer and poorer. 

 

There are two such families in the book. The Bas-Thorntons, are British. There are five children, the eldest of which, Emily at age 10, is the primary perspective of the book. The others are the younger John, Edward, Rachel, and Laura, the youngest of whom is age 3. 

 

The Fernandez family is described as “Creole,” which probably means that they were of mixed race - white and black. There are two children in that family, Margaret, the oldest at 13, and Harry. 

 

While the other children get some attention, it is primarily Emily whose inner life we see the most of. 

 

During a visit to the Fernandez home, there is first a mild earthquake, then a catastrophic hurricane which destroys the home, while its occupants cower in the basement. 

 

After this, the parents decide to send their children to England, and supposed safety. 

 

On the way, their boat is captured by pirates, who, certain that the ship has cash on board, takes the children hostage. The captain of the ship believes the pirates have murdered the children, and flees, inadvertently leaving the children behind on the pirate ship. 

 

From there on, the story gets crazier and crazier. The pirates unsuccessfully attempt to pawn the children off on a rich woman in Cuba. John dies in an accidental fall. Rachel drops a marlin spike that injures Emily. They capture a ship which is filled with zoo animals. Emily freaks out and kills the captain of that ship. Emily fights off sexual advances by the pirate captain, but Margaret becomes his lover and ends up pregnant. 

 

And on it goes, crazier and crazier. 

 

Because the perspective is mostly Emily’s, we get trauma, stockholm syndrome, repressed memories, and more from the very naive and confused ten year old brain. In that sense, the book is fascinating and perceptive. 

 

And disturbing. 

 

Don’t expect a feel-good ending, and don’t expect psychological closure. One of the things the book does is push back hard against the Victorian idea of childhood innocence. The cold-blooded way in which the children forget about John, Emily’s vicious stabbing of the captain, their ambivalence about the pirates and their own parents - this is not whitewashed. It isn’t what adults want to think. But there is certainly evidence of this sort of childhood response to trauma. I have heard people talk about their childhoods and the author isn’t stretching. 

 

The audiobook was a digital file, but was also clearly recorded a number of years ago. The “this is the end of disc one” stuff was still there, and the pace seemed to be of an era. 

 

The narrator was Michael Maloney, who took everything at a leisurely British pace, with the accent, adding to the feel of the book as old. The main issue I have with it is, as often is the case, the recording compression. I listen while commuting, and large differences between loud and soft make it frustrating to listen to. At the softest parts, my stereo was up at its max, and I still struggled to hear the words at freeway speeds. And then, the loud parts would blast. 

 

I think that maybe some of the older recordings (and it is particularly the older recordings with this issue) assume a person sitting quietly and listening, rather than driving or running or otherwise occupied in environments with background noise. 

 

Anyway, the book is worth checking out. It’s not for kids, though.