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bookofcinz's review against another edition
2.0
I picked up Diana McCaulay's Huracan with not a lot of expectations. I usually enjoy reading her novels so I figured I would enjoy this book, that was not the case.
Huracan is set in Jamaica follows the descendants of the McCaulay line who ended up to Jamaica. Starting from the 18th century we meet young Zachary Macaulay, sent to the island to be a bookkeeper on one of the more prosperous sugar plantations. Zachary who is new to island life assimilate but cannot get use the brutalities of slavery and after years of working on a plantation he becomes an abolitionist. Fast forward to the 19th century, we see John and his brother Brian who are both missionaries heading to Jamaica to help spread the Baptist message. We focus on John's ministry in a remote part of Jamaica, how he integrates with the village and locals who recently experience freedom from slavery. Last, we meet Leigh McCaulay who is returning to Jamaica after hearing of the death of her mother. Leigh's storyline is set in the 1980s and it is during that time we learn about how she is tied to the previous McCaulays.
The book is loosely based on the authors' family history so it is hard to separate what is fact from what exactly is fiction. Overall I felt the book started off really strong, I felt I was being carried on a journey, however, I felt like I got taken for a ride that went no where. I just felt the author lacked focus, too much was being explored so it turned out A LOT got glossed over. I am a little annoyed that the author didn't zone in on ONE storyline and went from there. I felt she was a bit too ambitious trying to do Zachary, John and Leigh and fitting their lives into less than 300 pages.
A disappointing read, especially because I am such a big fan of the author.
Huracan is set in Jamaica follows the descendants of the McCaulay line who ended up to Jamaica. Starting from the 18th century we meet young Zachary Macaulay, sent to the island to be a bookkeeper on one of the more prosperous sugar plantations. Zachary who is new to island life assimilate but cannot get use the brutalities of slavery and after years of working on a plantation he becomes an abolitionist. Fast forward to the 19th century, we see John and his brother Brian who are both missionaries heading to Jamaica to help spread the Baptist message. We focus on John's ministry in a remote part of Jamaica, how he integrates with the village and locals who recently experience freedom from slavery. Last, we meet Leigh McCaulay who is returning to Jamaica after hearing of the death of her mother. Leigh's storyline is set in the 1980s and it is during that time we learn about how she is tied to the previous McCaulays.
The book is loosely based on the authors' family history so it is hard to separate what is fact from what exactly is fiction. Overall I felt the book started off really strong, I felt I was being carried on a journey, however, I felt like I got taken for a ride that went no where. I just felt the author lacked focus, too much was being explored so it turned out A LOT got glossed over. I am a little annoyed that the author didn't zone in on ONE storyline and went from there. I felt she was a bit too ambitious trying to do Zachary, John and Leigh and fitting their lives into less than 300 pages.
A disappointing read, especially because I am such a big fan of the author.
podie's review against another edition
3.0
A historical fiction chronicling the lives of three people at different points in time, who may or may not be related. I liked it, I wish that we could have learned more about each of the three main characters. I feel that we barely got the tip of the iceberg. An interesting read nonetheless.
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