Sunday, September 07, 2008

MARGARET CEZAIR-THOMPSON The Pirate's Daughter ***(*)

I've a suspicion that this book might well qualify as chick-lit in some eyes. But it didn't stop me enjoying it!

It's basically a family saga set in Jamaica. The underlying plot premise is the historical fact that Errol Flynn fell in love with the place and bought Navy Island.

In the novel Flynn first arrives there when his yacht has to put in for repairs. He is befriended by a local businessman (originally from Lebanon) whose teenage daughter, Ida, is determined to meet the famous movie star and, having done so, sets her heart on marrying him. He has always been drawn to her and eventually, when Ida is 16 they start an affair and she gets pregnant and gives birth to the head-strong May, who leads the second part of the story.

It's all about love for place, about belonging and not belonging, poverty and wealth, passion and recklessness - all tied in with Jamaica's progress towards independence and, once they have it, the political turmoil of the early days. A rattling good yarn - and a bit more.

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