Customer Reviews

Caribbean

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being from the Caribbean myself, I enjoyed how Michener attempted to thread the histories of the many diverse islands (one of which is my home)...however I agree with another reader that as soon as you get caught up in one section of the novel, we are taken to another island with another history...the novel will start with the true natives, the Tainos and Caribs...it will even take you to the backdrop of the Mayan civilization briefly..."the Spanish Lake" was my favorite part of the book....the battles between the Spaniards and the British are skillfully sketched, displaying the best and worst of both sides...the fistional island called "All Saints" in the book I found unnecesary...no reason to invent a history of an imaginary island in a book of this nature which is already struggling to cover the diversity that is the Caribbean...all in all, I enjoyed the book and the author held my interest...I would say it is a fun way to read history....I also recommend Galeano's "Memory of fire" a triology of the Americas....

Reader beware - 800 plus pages, so this is no book for story time. Extremely prolific, James A. Michener writes as only he can write about the Caribbean, that vast expanse of ocean surrounded by Cuba, Puerto Rico and the extensive small islands smattered across the seascape. This is a powerful history of these islands, and James Michener takes us from the 1300s when a peaceful tribe of Arawaks are horribly destroyed all the way to Castro's Cuba. This is the sort of book one would do better learning about this area from, as the author weaves plot upon plot into a brilliantly masterminded historical novel. You will learn more from this book about the Caribbean Sea and its islands than any history or geography class could give you, and you will have more fun doing it! I gave it four stars simply because with a book this size, there was bound to be some dreadfully boring parts, and there were. If it were a bit shorter in length it would lack nothing but a Pulitzer.

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!

If ever I wondered why the Caribbean keeps drawing me back, it's read in the pages of "Caribbean". This fiction based on fact novel allowed me to understand and appreciate the history of the Caribbean. From the beginnings in Mexico and through the history of the Arawak and Carib nations. After I finished, I again traveled to St.Somewhere with a different propective on the islands and its people. My first Michener book, but not my last. A true lesson in Caribbean history.

I've read JOURNEY, ALASKA, CHEAPEAK, and HAWAII. CARIBBEAN is close to the top of my list. Though this isn't "heavy" reading (like Homer for instance), it isn't exactly "light" either. It is sometimes hard to follow, because so much material from various regions is covered. I often found myself looking back for details I'd forgotten. However, I find the challenge rewarding. I also appreciate Michener's consideration for the reader - he is never vulgar or explicitly sexual. I find that refreshing in today's society.

I learned a great deal from this book, including where "barbeque", "bacon", and "grog" got their meanings. I never really enjoyed history, so I've learned much more from Michener than I would have normally. Perhaps if I were an historian or a literary critic I'd knock it down a star or two, but I am blissfully ingnorant of any faults :-)

For reference purposes, from the list above I rated CHESAPEAK at 5+ stars and ALASKA at 4.5

This book was Michener at his best. Sure, a few chapters were kind of boring but what else do you expect of an 800 page book. My favorite chapter was the scholar, near the endof the book about the hindu from Trinidad, Ranjit Banarjee. He was a student who went to the University of Miami and desperately tried to stay in the country after he got his phd. He eventually got caught up in a fraudulent marriage scam. The chapter Buccanears, about pirates was also good, and so was the stuff about Sir Francis Drake.

In this novel , Michener takes us throught he ages in the magnifficent Caribbean. While it may be an exaggeration to refer to the Caribbean as a microcosm of the world , it is certainly a rich and diverse and fascinating region , it's tropical beauty matched by it's vibrant and interesting people.
Beginning on the island of Dominica , where the Arawaks, a beautiful , gentle and cultured people where displaced by the fierce and warlike Caribs , it continues through the adventures in the Caribeean of Christopeher Columbus , the great pirate admirals like Francis Drake , the struggles of the Spanish , French , British , Dutch and Engish over these islands, the cruelty of slavery , and the equally savage slave uprisings , how the turbulence of the English Civil War and the French Revolutions reached these islands , right up to the challenges of the present day , including a chapter about the Rastafari movement , and about the tyranny on Cuba of Fidel Castro , and the Cuban exile community in Miami. The book also covers a fictional island called All Saints.

While slow in parts , it is overall a fascinating and entertaining read.

Caribbean is a typical Michener book. He is the best when it comes to tell a story of a place, not of a person. Recently there has been some followers of this kind of books, like Edward Rutherfurd, who is a good author, but not like Michener.

Caribbean is a very long book, telling almost a millenium of history of one of the most enchanting places on Earth. Michener is able, through sixteen short stories, to narrate what happened on the various islands and main parts of the continent (like northern Colombia and eastern Mexico) since the time of the pre-colombian indians, passing through spanish domination, the attacks of english and french pirates and buccaneers, the abuse of the black people turned into slaves, till comunism in the form of Castro in Cuba. More, he is able to relate all what was happening in the Caribbean related to what was happening in the foremost countries in Europe, and the rising participation of the United States in the international scenario.

One thing I think it's really important when an author wishes to blend various real facts with his immagination efforts is to inform his readers what is fact and what is fiction, and in Caribbean Michener has a list of actual facts of each chapter and a bibliography of each subject for readers who want to learn further. This kind of attention to the reader is something we don't see too often, and everyone who likes a well written book should mourn Michener's passing away, as well as be glad he was so prolific and intense while writing.

This book is as colorful as the place of its name.

Grade 8.8/10

This book started out very strong, but about half way through it seeemed to skip around a bit. I really liked the first part because of the history of the Spanish Main, pirates and swashbucklers and big battles at sea. That is my bias. I love stories about the sea and especially from the seventeen hundreds. But as the time in the story got closer to the twentieth century I found the book skipped around quite a bit. It did touch on the various islands and gave background on each but I searched for and didn't find that common thread that is usually so apparent in Michener's books. In spite of that I would recommed this book. It is totally fascinating when you consider the history in this tranquil but tumultous place.

Overall this was an interesting and informative book. From an historical perspective Michener covers all of the bases in good style. While he makes history interesting, his perspective appears slanted and euro-centric. His language, when speaking for the native population, is awkward and unrealistic. "Me go hut..., we not join them..." His take on Jamaica and the Rastas is unrealistic. He has little to say about Jamaica in the '70's, a seminal period in that island's history and a key to understanding the Caribbean.
I last read Michener a long time ago. His writing has not aged well.