A High Wind in Jamaica

By: Richard Hughes

Narrated by: Michael Maloney

Set in the 19th century against a backdrop of island life and the vast surrounding seas, A High Wind in Jamaica is the gripping story of the Bas-Thornton children, whose parents send them back to England following a hurricane in the postcolonial Caribbean they call home. Having set sail, the children quickly fall into the hands of pirates. As their voyage continues, things take an awful turn. Narrated largely from the perspective of the children, the supposed innocents are not the only victims of amoral behaviour, but sometimes the perpetrators. As their voyage continues, things take an awful turn. Narrated largely from the perspective of the children, the supposed innocents are not the only victims of amoral behaviour, but sometimes the perpetrators. Praised for its atypical and unsettling take on the truth of human nature, Richard Hughes’ classic, first published in 1929, has been called one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and credited with paving the way for other masterworks such as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Praised for its atypical and unsettling take on the truth of human nature, Richard Hughes’ classic, first published in 1929, has been called one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, and credited with paving the way for other masterworks such as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

©2011 CSA Word (P)2011 CSA Word

The first 5 hours are exciting

I loved the beginning and the middle of this book. I didn’t like the ending and didn’t find it consistent with the rest of the book. I also don’t see the resemblance to Lord of the Flies mentioned in the publisher’s description. If you like a rollicking adventure with intrepid children, get this book.

Of Hurricanes and Horrible Children

#ahighwindinjamaica is one of those books that, though having never read, I thought I generally understood was was about. I was very wrong.

Based in the 1870's, the story involves the collision between a group of English children being shipped back the United Kingdom after a storm ravages #jamaica and their encounter with a band of Cuban #pirates who encounter their English bound ship. One would be inclined to believe that the children would suffer at the hands of the high seas brigands but proved to be more of a horror to the pirates. #richardhughes certainly took a very different tact in his depiction of the generally hapless nature of pirates, the reality of high seas law where the mere act of piracy was no longer an automatic capital offense, and the tendency of writers to treat children as fragile creatures rather than the resilient and rather thoughtless creatures they can often be. Instead, Hughes treats adults as being much more ignorant and incapable they may wish themselves to be.

My #audible version, excellently read by #michaelmaloney came to my attention due to its position on the #modernlibrarytop100novels but I will be hunting down a hard copy to add to my collection. #readtheworld #readtheworldchallenge #globalreadingchallenge #piratenovel

One of my favorite stories, very well done!

I've read the book and seen the movie - this reading stands well in it's own right and certainly enriches my appreciation of this fun and sophisticated tale. Great depiction of the parallel but very different worlds inhabited by children & adults and the experience of each trying to understand the other.

Good (not great) odd story of children

This is a fine novel, but seems to me far from a great, or essential read.

It seems to be almost a children's adventure book, but has a few, mild, illusions to sexuality, and subtle adult humor.
The book has a very light narrative tone while it focuses on small children losing their homes, sent away on a ship, being taken by pirates, and the injury and death of siblings and pets. All without any trauma. This is a very odd book.

Perhaps it was considered important for being one of the first books to transform the image of children in literature from the Victorian norm of the time.

I enjoyed this short book, particularly the odd, ironic tone and humor.

The narration was excellent with wonderful subtle tone enhancing the story.

Like a high-level children’s story with bad music

The musical interludes between each chapter were awful and made the whole experience of listening far worse. The story itself was fine, and the reader did a great job. There were some strange parts in the story and I’m not sure the author really captured how children think and feel, but overall it was ok.

Unusual story

What did you like best about A High Wind in Jamaica? What did you like least?

Unique pirate story told from viewpoint of kidnapped children. Outstanding job of getting inside the childrens' heads and describing the situations and their feelings.

Would you be willing to try another book from Richard Hughes? Why or why not?

Yes because of his story telling ability and descriptive technique - not too wordy or flowery but accurate.

Which scene was your favorite?

The auction.

Did A High Wind in Jamaica inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

The reader's performance was excellent, fantastic job with the voices and accents. Quite believable.

Lovely literature about children's imaginations

Powerful adventures for children that are a pleasure to hear. Narration was great but the accompanying classical musical may not be to everyone's tastes. I enjoyed it. Overall, a great tale and well performed.

Great book!

This is an excellent story. The plot. The prose. Richard Hughes is a genius. I wish there were more novels from him. The narrator is good but I would have liked someone else. But it works for this victorian time period.

Lord of the flies can suck it

What's cool about this book is that it changes while you're reading it. The book starts off as a swashbuckling story involving children and pirates and transforms into something that would make lord of the flies look like a day at the beach

Prose that reads like a Child's Fever Dream

"After all, a criminal lawyer is not concerned with facts. He is concerned with probabilities. It is the novelist who is concerned with facts, whose job it is to say what a particular man did do on a particular occasion: the lawyer does not, cannot be expected to go further than show what the ordinary man would be most likely to do under presumed circumstances."
-- Richard Hughes, A High Wind in Jamaica

A shortcut I use when thinking about a novel, and it IS a shortcut, is to imagine fitting the book I've just read within a series of other books, or as a color made from mixing several books together. It is childish, rough, and only gets me part of the way there, but it is a start (even if it is an adolescent start). I also, with a book I am unfamiliar with, try to avoid poisoning the well by reading reviews or opinions about it. I want to come to it clean, fresh, to see it for a moment with my own eyes.

So? What books did I mix for this one? For me it was a combination of Peter Pan, Heart of Darkness, and Lord of the Flies. Yeah. Wrap your head around that. It was, however, more poetic than any of these. The prose was like a fever dream. Some of the scenes in Jamaica were lush and magical. It was told with colors seen from a child's eyes, events were described through the experience of a child. It wasn't just a trick. Hughes mastered this. He didn't condescend to children. He didn't put them on some victorian pedestal. He measured them by age, by experience, and oriented his story accordingly.

The story really is about the loss of innocence (oh, and an earthquake), but as much it is a story about how resilient children are to that loss of innocence (oh, and an alligator). How much children live in the now and wrap that now in myths. Hughes gave the children in this novel the right to be human, to deal with complexity in their own way. I'm still buzzing a bit from how much I really dug this novel. I'm glad I read it and am still surprised I was never exposed to it before.