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My fiancé and I will be there getting married from May 28- June 7 (9 nights YAY!!!). Have any good ideas for beach reading? Any good ones where the setting IS Jamaica? Also, I love horror books and funny books! Stephen King fan. Also like cultural-type books! Excuse the short-hand!! On an IPhone!
Just finished 11/22/63. Very good book.
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is set in Jamaica in the 1840's. If you enjoyed Jane Eyre, WSS is Rhys' provision of background for and the story of "Bertha," Rochester's "insane" wife. I guess you could consider it a prequel.
Any of the books by Bob Morris will make a great beach read. they are murder mysteries with a comical twist to them. The first one in the series is just what you are looking for, the title being Jamaica Me Dead! There is a lot about life in Jamaica in this book, as well as it being a great mystery. The others in the series are Bahama Rama, Bermuda Schwartz, Baha Florida and The Deadly Silver Sea.
"The Pirates Daughter" is set in Jamaica and a great beach read!
Rasta Heart by Robert Roskind is a good one. It has a bit of island history and different stories mixed in with his story. Also, has some pretty cool pics.
Karen,Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenON
"Jamaica Me Dead" sounds fabulous! (and I don't use that word a lot). I might just have to check that one out!! Is the whole book "tongue in cheek" like the title, or situational humor?
Thanks everyone for the reccommendations! Choosing a book or two for this vacation is tough! You don't want to get there and hate your choices!!
Books about and/or set in Jamaica:
Negril Reggae, Riots & Romance, by Roberta Raigh Pryor is a relatively new book by an ex-pat living in Negril. Breezy fictional beach read that can give a sense of Jamaican (and ex-pat) life.
The Lunatic, by Anthony Winkler is a fictional book written by a Jamaican and set in Jamaica that can give one a sense of Jamaican characters (funny, if a bit ribald). Was also made into a hilarious movie.
Born Fi' Dead, by Laurie Gunst is a darker, non-fictional account of growing up in Kingston's poorer areas. Not likely a beach read, but if you want to learn some aspects of Jamaica, it may do the trick
Banana Shout by Mark Conklin is a thinly veiled fictional account of people in the early years of the development of places in Negril's west end. Funny at times, I found the writing to be atrocious in places, but others on this MB said they loved it.
Roland Thomas Reimer's Walk Good- Travels to Negril, a non-fiction book and Sunset Negril: A Caribbean Adventure Tale, a novel are both fun as is Banana Shout by Mark Conklin. I liked the Bob Morris books, too. Kingston by Starlight by Christopher John Farley and Pirate Latitiudes by Michael Crichton involve pirates in Jamaica and are worth a read. I'm sure Amazon has them all.
The Cry of the Halidon by Robert Ludlum (from 1974, it was originally published under the pen-name Jonathan Ryder) It's a spy thriller about a geologist hired to survey Jamaica's dark interior.
Invest in a Kindle or other e-reader. My husband gave me a first-generation Kindle years ago for a Jamaica trip, and I love it. I have a newer one now, and it's so convenient. You can download as many books as you'd like and not worry about taking up too much room in your luggage. If you start a book and don't like it, you can simply move on to another.Quote:
Originally Posted by axmh1985
axmh1985 - The humour in Jamaica Me Dead comes from the characters. He is a good writer, excellent at characterization, and he gets them involved in some great mysteries. The action in this book all takes place in Jamaica, up in the mountains, at resorts along the route between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, and a very exciting scene at the airport, that we mention every time we drive into or out of Sangster.