A Misadventure in Eden with Zombies, Rastafarians and Other Revolutionaries
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 October 2014
by Ras Albert and Tempie Williams
If ever there was a book every American tourist visiting a foreign country for the first time, especially the Commonwealth of Dominica, should read , this is it! The author in his remarkable story writing ability, truly captures the authenticity of untold events and painful memories at a time in history that culturally many in both America and the Commonwealth of Dominica will never know about or choose to forget. Amazingly, this author, former Park Ranger, former Naturalist for the U.S. Park Service, former medical student, boldly takes you on his eight day adventure that left an unforgettable mark . He opens stating, “ He has not returned in over thirty years and that he wrote this book in 1981 shortly after the events had happened, however its publication was blocked by people who did not want his viewpoint aired.”
Now, this unique Southern American-born wife and British-born Dominican reared, Rastafarian husband professional review team sought out to read this very interesting accounted book of events. They each stepped back while reading to truly appreciate the storyline, embrace the satirical nature and subjectively venture the spiritedness this author chose to write in. Doing so with an astute awareness of timing of all occurrences. There were moments each actually felt the realness of the affects being born in America that slavery had on every black American in many of the author’s use of expressions and tones realizing the need for civil rights. And with actually living in the Common of Dominica during all of the author’s written time knowing firsthand how being a third-world country just having acquired it’s independence from Britain really meant. Plus being Rastafarian then and being abreast of the written occurrences mentioned was interesting comparing notes and subconsciously being able to fill in more of the details. While knowing no words however written could ever express the devastating time for locals and a country in the process of rebuilding upon the aftermaths of one of the most terrifying hurricanes in their history.
With this type of understanding dialogues such as “… in the Rastafarian population at one end there are people like Flower Children and on the other end are ‘ The Dreads,’ something like the Weathermen of the early seventies, people who did resort to violence…paid by the government to be involved in illegal activities such as marijuana smuggling and political subversion” on page 45 awakened such memories. Or dialogue saying,“ All right ,” I spoke to myself, it’s just a fluke , ‘ pay the doctor,’ as my old negro friends in the mattress factory would say when they went to the toilet ” from page 31 carried deep inner thoughts. These are just a few examples throughout this book and became amazingly intriguing page-turners bringing out almost every emotion. Good signs of a good book remembering always that this is storytelling by this author’s real experience and that evidence of today’s times and standards are culturally, governmentally and politically remarkably different.
Overall, this husband and wife review team found this book to be very interesting and made reference to some of its content while researching earlier on one of their current publications, ‘ Dread, Rastafari, and Ethiopia: The definitive historical report of the Beginning and the Rise of the Rastafari movement in the Commonwealth of Dominica.’ by Ras Albert Williams.
Click below for more
(2022) Amazon.co.uk. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Domi…/dp/1475924224/ref=sr_1_1… (Accessed: 20 August 2022).
ALBERT WILLIAMS Reporting 
You must be logged in to post a comment.