http://www.caribbeantoday.com/other/facts/books/item/26739-book-launch-an-overwhelming-success.html
The overall coverage of the launch was good but this book review y Dawn A. Davis was great.
‘Looking Back’, love for Jamaica shines through.
Joan Williams’s “Looking Back” is not a memoir. It’s a story of Jamaica coming of age - the way it was, is and has become.
It’s the story of pain, tragedy and rebirth.
Yes, it’s partly Williams’s personal story, but the events of an era that shaped Jamaican politics and its collective psyche gives this book its edge. The turbulent period of the 1970s is highlighted as Williams charts her path from activism to would-be politician to popular radio commentator.
She claims to write the truth for those who were not there; those still in the dark. Her telling of the sometimes “toxic” environment that bred troubled communities in Jamaica post-Independence is palpable.
“The ‘garrisonisation’ of the country had reached the point where even a separate ‘independent state’ was established within one constituency, with a President to boot,” Williams stated.
The quote describes the West Kingston community that was headed by the infamous Christopher Coke, also known as “Presi” and “Dudus” who, according to Williams, was protected by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) although he was a known criminal and wanted by the United States. The author chronicles the happenings in garrison communities like Tivoli Gardens, run by Dudus’s father Lester Lloyd “Jim Brown” Coke for decades. She also addresses the overflow of criminality that reached the U.S. via the notoriously violent “Shower Posse” gang, which adds to the macabre picture Williams paints.
WRONG ROAD
The author’s distrust of the Michael Manley-led People’s National Party (PNP) of the time is evident in her comments about the PNP’s “dance” with socialism that she and others thought would lead Jamaica down the wrong road. So, Williams changing party alliances was no surprise.
It is well known, based on World Bank statistics, that Jamaica is among the top five murder capitals of the world. Williams tells the readers why, based on her own experiences. She names politicians and other “upstanding” Jamaicans involved in what she calls “civil war”, especially during the run-up to Jamaica’s 1980 general elections.
“As the undeclared civil war raged at the local level, almost every constituency in Jamaica saw some form of violence coming from either the JLP, the PNP or the Trevor Munroe led WPJ, which supported the PNP. By the end of 1980, murders had doubled to almost 900 from 440 the previous year for there was no shortage of weapons or ammunition on either side,” Williams wrote.
WORTHY READ
The author records the plight of the poor, especially those who lived in garrisons - “in the line of fire”. She compares their daily lives to those of the political rulers who were amassing wealth and status at their constituents’ expense. It is these types of juxtapositions that makes this work a worthy read.
Williams’s personal journey as a businesswoman, farmer, activist, wife and mother brings Jamaica’s reality closer to the reader. The loss of her son in 1995 to a gunman is not just heart-wrenching, it is a sad metaphor for what Jamaica had become.
In spite of all the violence and personal loss, Williams’s story leaves one with a sense of hope. For no matter what her beloved Jamaica is going through or is labeled her ‘umbilical’ connection and unconditional love for her country shines through.
http://www.caribbeantoday.com/other/facts/books/item/26800-looking-back-love-for-jamaica-shines-through.html
The overall coverage of the launch was good but this book review y Dawn A. Davis was great.
‘Looking Back’, love for Jamaica shines through.
It’s the story of pain, tragedy and rebirth.Yes, it’s partly Williams’s personal story, but the events of an era that shaped Jamaican politics and its collective psyche gives this book its edge. The turbulent period of the 1970s is highlighted as Williams charts her path from activism to would-be politician to popular radio commentator.
She claims to write the truth for those who were not there; those still in the dark. Her telling of the sometimes “toxic” environment that bred troubled communities in Jamaica post-Independence is palpable.
“The ‘garrisonisation’ of the country had reached the point where even a separate ‘independent state’ was established within one constituency, with a President to boot,” Williams stated.
The quote describes the West Kingston community that was headed by the infamous Christopher Coke, also known as “Presi” and “Dudus” who, according to Williams, was protected by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) although he was a known criminal and wanted by the United States. The author chronicles the happenings in garrison communities like Tivoli Gardens, run by Dudus’s father Lester Lloyd “Jim Brown” Coke for decades. She also addresses the overflow of criminality that reached the U.S. via the notoriously violent “Shower Posse” gang, which adds to the macabre picture Williams paints.
WRONG ROAD
The author’s distrust of the Michael Manley-led People’s National Party (PNP) of the time is evident in her comments about the PNP’s “dance” with socialism that she and others thought would lead Jamaica down the wrong road. So, Williams changing party alliances was no surprise.
It is well known, based on World Bank statistics, that Jamaica is among the top five murder capitals of the world. Williams tells the readers why, based on her own experiences. She names politicians and other “upstanding” Jamaicans involved in what she calls “civil war”, especially during the run-up to Jamaica’s 1980 general elections.
“As the undeclared civil war raged at the local level, almost every constituency in Jamaica saw some form of violence coming from either the JLP, the PNP or the Trevor Munroe led WPJ, which supported the PNP. By the end of 1980, murders had doubled to almost 900 from 440 the previous year for there was no shortage of weapons or ammunition on either side,” Williams wrote.
WORTHY READ
The author records the plight of the poor, especially those who lived in garrisons - “in the line of fire”. She compares their daily lives to those of the political rulers who were amassing wealth and status at their constituents’ expense. It is these types of juxtapositions that makes this work a worthy read.
Williams’s personal journey as a businesswoman, farmer, activist, wife and mother brings Jamaica’s reality closer to the reader. The loss of her son in 1995 to a gunman is not just heart-wrenching, it is a sad metaphor for what Jamaica had become.
In spite of all the violence and personal loss, Williams’s story leaves one with a sense of hope. For no matter what her beloved Jamaica is going through or is labeled her ‘umbilical’ connection and unconditional love for her country shines through.
http://www.caribbeantoday.com/other/facts/books/item/26800-looking-back-love-for-jamaica-shines-through.html
Well done Joan Big Congratulations we need far more books like this!
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