Janet E. (janete) - , reviewed on 3/22/2012 + 22 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

In this strange and unforgettable story, pirates abduct a group of young children bound for England but wait, this is no Disney adventure of a cantankerous-yet-ultimately-lovable pirate captain who befriends and protects impish-but-ultimately-adorable children. Here is a story of deep complexity, layers of emotions, undercurrents of unhealthy sexuality and perversity juxtaposed with (and sometimes entering into) the childrens separate and sometimes fey world. The story begins in Jamaica, in a landscape marked by degenerate fecundity punctuated by natural catastrophes first, an earthquake, then, a ferocious hurricane. These circumstances prompt Mr. and Mrs. Bas-Thornton to send their children to civilization and safety in England. Enroute, the children meet their pirates. Its easy to see why A High Wind in Jamaica was chosen by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the 20th Century. Few writers get inside childrens heads the way Hughes does. Outstanding. 4.5 stars

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