Giving Good Ghost

Rating:
Summary: giving 'great' ghost
Review: A very powerful book; kind of a classic if you know anything about St. Maarten. I really admire the author's courgae, he hits St. Maarten hard, but he hits himself harder. This is a book that is very negative about St. Maarten, but very accurate as well. I think the author is brilliant and daring and probably a very miserable, lonely person. Still and all, he made me made laugh and dare I say, he made me cry also. I think he could have told us more and left us more satisfied, but what can you do, he rang the bell, and he rang it hard, if only he rang it a little longer.

Rating:
Summary: bitter but funny
Review: Giving Good Ghost is a remarkable book. It is not only a very acute look at life on a small corrupt island, but also a vicious and very painful look at how one person tries to deal with debilitating depression and his own vulnerability in what can be best described as a decidedly unfriendly island. The writing is great and the author is far harder on himself than anyone else. The poems that are intersperesed throughout the book are intense and speak to a real sense of isolation and desire for beauty. This is quite a book and hopefully, it will wake up even the most sleepy St. Maartener and St. Maarten visitor from their respective denial. The writer delivers the goods.

Rating:
Summary: tears of rage
Review: I have never been to the Caribbean, but this book taught me a lot. I think the author is brave to have exposed so much about himself and his surroundings. I somehow think the author must cry tears of rage. It was a very moving and disturbing book.

Rating:
Summary: bitter but funny
Review: This book is a very bitter look at St. Maarten, but very accurate. I think the author captures something about the modern Caribbean. His writing style is relentlessly truthful, bleak and yet very funny. I wanted to read more.