The Pirate's Daughter

Review Summary: Thoughtful and absorbing

Review:

I became thoroughly absorbed by this book, and enjoyed it for its character studies, its evocation of Jamaica's physical beauty, and its intelligent plot, weaving residual and haunting echoes from one family generation to the next.

Many people seem to have a problem with the use of Errol Flynn in the novel, either that he is not a rounded enough character, or that he is featured at all. However, what they seem to overlook is that Flynn is really just a vehicle to set the other characters in motion, and these are the ones we are really concerned with. Flynn serves as part of the running metaphor of pirates/ treasure, which is done with great intricacy and skill (though at times overdone!)

Race is one of the most intriguing issues in the book. It does follow the vein of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea and many other novels set in Jamaica, concerning women who can 'pass' for white but have black ancestory. The two female protagonists, mother and daughter, possess a kind of self-destructive nature that I feel is partly due to the fetished exocitism that surrounds them.

Definately worth a read; the novel has something for everyone.

Review Summary: A story with many depths.

Review:

The Pirate's Daughter is a novel which draws you right in as you read the story of May and her life but also at the same time learn about Ida, her mother, Errol her father and the disturbances of Jamaica in the run up to independence and after.

The book is interestingly divided into parts and chapters, as if suggesting a reference book of some kind with a list of contents in the beginning. In some ways it is a reference book that transforms itself into a story about growing up in Jamaica with the knowledge that the father of your child is the movie star Errol Flynn, in the case of Ida Joseph.

The book starts with the life of Ida Joseph as the main character and as we see her fascination of meeting movie idol Errol Flynn consume her completely, her dreams come true when an introduction is made by her father and we the reader see her enter Errol's world where she becomes an observer as well as a lover of Errol's. It is important to note that the relevance of Errol Flynn's character is not specific to him, it could have been a movie star in general, but I feel that the author used this movie star as he had a connection and history to the island of Jamaica. The author does note that some of the story has to be exaggerated for narrative effect. This is not a secret of Errol Flynn that has been discovered, he is a tool in the characters lives of Ida and her daughter with Flynn, May Joseph.

Ida is a strong character who cares for her father in his dotage, and battles with the family secrets that she only becomes aware of her towards the end of her mother's life. The birth of May, Ida believes will secure her some stability but there is nothing forthcoming from the father Flynn so she resorts to many means to survive. Her trip to New York brings her new challenges as she falls in love with Karl, a confidant of Flynn's and someone who was completely aware of her infatuation with him.

As Ida is away in the US trying to make some sort of life for herself so that she can return to Jamaica to take care of her daughter and father, May takes over as the main character and grows to be a rather unruly disruptive girl who can be seen somewhat running wild like street children. She has no one to protect her and guide through life in the informative years as she grows. May only ever meets her father once, she is aware of his existence by the films that Ida takes her to see. This seems to be a catalyst in the story as when Ida returns with her new husband Karl, things do not go the way they should for May or how Ida envisaged.

Flynn is forgotten about somewhat in the last two thirds of the book (rightly so as he has died), his presence is felt though on Navy Island and through the ghosts that seem to roam the island. May, Ida and Karl live there somewhat unsettled and their lives continue to evolve whilst around them Jamaica seems to be struggling with the state of emergency, it takes a long time before inevitably the unrest reaches the island and life is changed forever for all of them.

The story picks up pace and never loses it from the beginning and keeps the reader enthralled with the life of May and her family. The author brings the Jamaica of the sixties and seventies to life and deals with all the cultural difference so subtly that you do not realise it is all happening as you read.

As previous reviewers have commented, the local dialect did somewhat spoil it for me as I had to stop and reread many times so I could understand what was being said. This a great book and well worth a read , as it deals with so much; the relationship between mother and daughter, broken families, love both young and old, national pride and disaster as well as the glamour of another world, that of the movie star.

Review Summary: I expected more

Review:

I had seen many reviews about this book. The story sounded intriguing with Errol Flynn as the hook for this story. I wasn't too sure about the real life character and fictional story working. I didn't find this worked well. For me, it divided the book into a glamourous surreal life on Navy Island, where Hollywood came and did what it liked, in a sense taking advantage of Jamaica and the people. Although there were many good characters in the story, I felt, there could have been more depth to their stories. A lot of unfinished detail. I found the letter writing of Ida and May quite immature, those paragraphs being the least caputring. I sympathised with the people during the unrest in the country, following the troubles in Cuba. The Jamaicans divided and fighting about who best to contiue to govern their island. Worth reading, but don't expect too much.

Review Summary: Sheer froth

Review:

The Pirate's Daughter felt much like a roller coaster - impossible to get off once you're on but leaving you feeling dizzy, slightly sick and rather regretting spending so much time on it....

The plot starts off well enough - Errol Flyn's yacht washes up in Jamaica, he decides to stay, a beautiful young girl falls in love with him, has his baby, gets abandoned - so far, so summer blockbuster. Sadly, after a cracking start, the novel loses its way slightly. The action never lets up and it's got it all - poverty and politics, death and drugs, mistaken identity and heartbreaking love affairs in spades - but ultimately, one feels that the author is trying to do too much. There's so much going on that even the characters seem to be confused, with their actions rarely tallying with what you might have expected.

In short, it's worth a read, and it's great fun in parts. But if you want a coherent plot with strong characters who convince you of their motivation, then I'm afraid you're looking in the wrong place....

Review Summary: Frangipani-scented delight!

Review:

I bought 'The Pirate's Daughter' in the vain hope that I could find a book that would hold me rapt with attention through to the end. Though living with such a demanding imagination, I didn't have much faith. Yet, I began to read and it did not take very long to realise that this book was nothing short of enchanting.

As the plot unfolds it becomes clear that Margaret Cezair-Thompson has a real talent for keeping the reader hooked. She has a true flair for making one feel intrinsic to the very environment of which she has written; you feel part of Jamaica and the incredible Navy Island. How she does this I'm not quite sure, but there is no doubt in my mind that she does it effectively and somewhat effortlessly, at that.

The mellifluous tone used, allowing her to move seamlessly from one event to the next, lets the reader trip from one breathtaking moment to another, with ease. Every page seems to burst with such delightful description of an exquisite place, much like the very frangipani-scent described upon them.

As a reader you feel you are experiencing the life-times of the main protagonists, along-side them. Thus, the reader is ensured to undergo an immense feeling upon finishing the book, eager for more of the lives of both Ida and May, at the least.

Having never read about Jamaica until now, I feel deprived of years of a passion for such a magical place, of which I previously had no true knowledge. This book is not only about the renowned movie-star Errol Flynn, nor is it focused upon the people who he involves himself with along the story; this book is decidedly meant to show the way of island-life, more deeply so: an emotive account of the history which Jamaica has suffered, its' beauty throughout the time and the inner core of it's people.

I, for one, cannot wait to see what else Margaret Cezair-Thompson has to come!