The Pirate's Daughter
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'An unabashedly frangipani-scented - and wholly satisfying - armchair read'
(Vogue )'Breathtaking pace and verve... a delight'
(Independent )'A love song to a slice of paradise that's teetering on the edge... a complete joy'
(Daily Mirror )' A joy to read, at once humorous, touching and poetic... The Pirate's Daughter charms as surely as any dashing film hero'
(Sunday Telegraph )'Cezair-Thompson has a light enough touch to tie such weighty issues as race, class and politics...a panorama of the diverse life of Jamaica held together by a sense of beguilement with the island itself'
(Time Out )The Mirror, Book Of The Week, 23rd November 2007
'Book Of The Week...Think Captain Corelli's Mandolin, or The Island... This novel is a complete joy...'
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although the title refers to May, the daughter, this story is very much the story of both mother and daughter. It begins with Ida as a teenager, meeting and falling for Errol.. a love that never leaves her.
I initially had reservations about using a real famous person in a fiction book, but it does work. Errol is obviously important, and I did find myself looking him up, to see how realistic his character was, but he's not a central character, and this helps. Once past the initial part of the story, there is so much more to keep you interested.
Whilst reading, the book seems to move at a fairly comfortable pace, but at the same time, I often found myself wanting `just one more chapter'. I carried this one around, just so I could dip into in my spare minutes. It's the type of book that you get caught up in before you realise it's happened.
The majority of the story is set in Jamaica, during a period of unrest - the history is quietly presented.. enough to give an insight, without distracting from the real story.
It also deals with racism from a slightly different angle.. because of May's mixed background, she never feels completely accepted, as she feels neither `coloured' or white. This leads to May feeling an outsider.. a feeling I'm sure many feel at some point at their lives.
This is an entertaining, spell-binding tale, which would make a perfect holiday read.
I initially had reservations about using a real famous person in a fiction book, but it does work. Errol is obviously important, and I did find myself looking him up, to see how realistic his character was, but he's not a central character, and this helps. Once past the initial part of the story, there is so much more to keep you interested.
Whilst reading, the book seems to move at a fairly comfortable pace, but at the same time, I often found myself wanting `just one more chapter'. I carried this one around, just so I could dip into in my spare minutes. It's the type of book that you get caught up in before you realise it's happened.
The majority of the story is set in Jamaica, during a period of unrest - the history is quietly presented.. enough to give an insight, without distracting from the real story.
It also deals with racism from a slightly different angle.. because of May's mixed background, she never feels completely accepted, as she feels neither `coloured' or white. This leads to May feeling an outsider.. a feeling I'm sure many feel at some point at their lives.
This is an entertaining, spell-binding tale, which would make a perfect holiday read.
35 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
May Flynn, the daughter of actor Errol Flynn and a beautiful Jamaican girl, has always wondered about her roots. Brought up by her mother Ida, grandfather Eli, and, for four years, a foster family, May is clever and tough from a young age. Always an outsider, she could pass for white, though she is not part of the white world of her father and maternal grandfather. Not part of the black world, either, though she considers herself "colored," she is often mocked by her dark Jamaican peers. Frequently alone, she keeps journals, filling them with stories of pirates, inspired by the films starring Errol Flynn which she sees at the local cinema.
As May discovers more about Ida's life before, during, and after her birth, she creates the story of her own life, revealing it through flashbacks. When Errol Flynn's yacht gets blown ashore at Port Antonio during a 1946 hurricane, her grandfather Eli drives to his aid, soon becoming Flynn's social secretary, guide, confidant, and real estate broker. Flynn finds the relaxed atmosphere of Jamaica a welcome contrast to Hollywood, where he faces charges related to his affairs with underage girls. He soon buys Navy Island, just off the coast of Port Antonio, where he builds Bella Vista, the palatial estate where he entertains a host of Hollywood stars. Ida, May's mother, is sixteen when she gives birth May, Flynn's child.
The second part of the novel follows Ida to New York as she tries to support her family, find work, and hold to her values. Her return to the island, and the changes she introduces into May's life, Part III, parallel some of the changes occurring on the island itself. Cuban refugees have swarmed to Jamaica to escape Castro's takeover. An economic downturn and, eventually, Jamaica's own independence from the British lead to competing political movements, violence, and atrocity over the next twenty years.
Filled with colorful characters, the patina of Hollywood, and the violence of political change, the novel is a fast-paced melodrama and family saga. The author's style is clean and simple as she traces lives across generations, providing enough description to enable the reader to create vibrant pictures of the action without bogging down the narrative in detail. Illness, death, financial disaster, smuggling, secret lives, ghost stories, rumors of hidden treasure, a mysterious grave, drug addiction, thwarted love, May-December romances, and shootings are among the many elements which keep the action moving--and keep the reader in a constant state of anticipation. Author Margaret Cezair-Thompson tells the story for its own sake, not to illustrate complex themes. The novel is entertaining, filled with non-stop excitement, and sure to appeal to a wide audience. Mary Whipple
As May discovers more about Ida's life before, during, and after her birth, she creates the story of her own life, revealing it through flashbacks. When Errol Flynn's yacht gets blown ashore at Port Antonio during a 1946 hurricane, her grandfather Eli drives to his aid, soon becoming Flynn's social secretary, guide, confidant, and real estate broker. Flynn finds the relaxed atmosphere of Jamaica a welcome contrast to Hollywood, where he faces charges related to his affairs with underage girls. He soon buys Navy Island, just off the coast of Port Antonio, where he builds Bella Vista, the palatial estate where he entertains a host of Hollywood stars. Ida, May's mother, is sixteen when she gives birth May, Flynn's child.
The second part of the novel follows Ida to New York as she tries to support her family, find work, and hold to her values. Her return to the island, and the changes she introduces into May's life, Part III, parallel some of the changes occurring on the island itself. Cuban refugees have swarmed to Jamaica to escape Castro's takeover. An economic downturn and, eventually, Jamaica's own independence from the British lead to competing political movements, violence, and atrocity over the next twenty years.
Filled with colorful characters, the patina of Hollywood, and the violence of political change, the novel is a fast-paced melodrama and family saga. The author's style is clean and simple as she traces lives across generations, providing enough description to enable the reader to create vibrant pictures of the action without bogging down the narrative in detail. Illness, death, financial disaster, smuggling, secret lives, ghost stories, rumors of hidden treasure, a mysterious grave, drug addiction, thwarted love, May-December romances, and shootings are among the many elements which keep the action moving--and keep the reader in a constant state of anticipation. Author Margaret Cezair-Thompson tells the story for its own sake, not to illustrate complex themes. The novel is entertaining, filled with non-stop excitement, and sure to appeal to a wide audience. Mary Whipple
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I took this book with me to read on holiday and the opening chapters describing the white sandy beaches, palm trees and fragrant bourgenvilla had me melting into my sun bed.
This book is a wonderful story about a teenage girl, Ida, on the island of Jamaica and her crush on film star Errol Flynn who befriends her Father and sets up residence on the island. Flynn takes a shine to Ida and seduces her and she then finds herself pregnant by him at the age of 16. The story then follows both Ida and her daughter, May, through the next 30 years including civil unrest and shocking violence on their beloved sushine island.
Cezair-Thompson has a wonderfully fresh voice which made me really warm to the fantastic array of characters. I have rated 4 stars as I felt that it slightly dragged in the middle (it seemed to lack direction at one point) before picking up again and drawing me back in.
All in all a highly recommended book - I thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to reading more from this author.
This book is a wonderful story about a teenage girl, Ida, on the island of Jamaica and her crush on film star Errol Flynn who befriends her Father and sets up residence on the island. Flynn takes a shine to Ida and seduces her and she then finds herself pregnant by him at the age of 16. The story then follows both Ida and her daughter, May, through the next 30 years including civil unrest and shocking violence on their beloved sushine island.
Cezair-Thompson has a wonderfully fresh voice which made me really warm to the fantastic array of characters. I have rated 4 stars as I felt that it slightly dragged in the middle (it seemed to lack direction at one point) before picking up again and drawing me back in.
All in all a highly recommended book - I thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to reading more from this author.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
our book club choice for February
really surprising and touching, noe often longs to be rich and famous but what a mess a great deal of them leave behind
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. Muriel R. Webber
Had the potential to be a good story but...
I really think that the story behind this book could have been good but it took a long time to get going. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Rach1987
An easy read with a good story
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I'm not into "chick lit" at all but this turned out to be a step or two above that. Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by AmazonAddict
Hmmmmmmmm
This book was chosen as our book club book. 4 of us read it and no-one enjoyed it. The mixture of a real person, along with fiction did not sit well. Read more
Published on 12 Nov 2009 by K. Graham
Tiresome chick lit
Little to recommend this book other than the setting. It's tired, tedious and lamentably predictable. Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2009 by B. A. V. MIDDLEMAST-NEAL
the pirates daughter
i dont normally write reviews for books but this book was such a disapointment and i was so cross at the end ! Read more
Published on 24 Aug 2009 by Ms. J. Foster
In like Flynn - Oh thats what it means !
Set in Jamaica we follow Ida who will never forget her first love notorious womaniser Errol Flynn. When he eventually seduces her she mistakening thinks he loves her but sadly she... Read more
Published on 21 Aug 2009 by Dr Phibes
An Excellent Holiday Read
I thought about buying this book to take on holiday but was put off, assuming it was mainly about Errol Flynn and his escapades. Read more
Published on 23 July 2009 by CGB, London
Family saga in a tropical setting
I enjoyed this very readable family saga set on the beautiful tropical island of Jamaica, a perfect summer read. Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2009 by LindyLouMac
I wanted to like it...
Sadly this didn't live up to the buzz that surrounded it last year. I'm surprised it's counted as literary fiction. Maybe that label is just because of the pedigree of the author. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2009 by Helen
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