The Dead Yard: A Story of Modern Jamaica

by Ian Thomson

Overview

Named the Dolman Travel Book of the Year, The Dead Yard paints an unforgettable portrait of modern Jamaica. Since independence, Jamaica has gradually become associated with twin images--a resort-style travel Eden for foreigners and a new kind of hell for Jamaicans, a society where gangs control the areas where most Jamaicans live and drug lords like Christopher Coke rule elites and the poor alike.

Ian Thomson's brave book explores a country of lost promise, where America's hunger for drugs fuels a dependent economy and shadowy politics. The lauded birthplace of reggae and Bob Marley, Jamaica is now sunk in corruption and hopelessness. A synthesis of vital history and unflinching reportage, The Dead Yard is "a fascinating account of a beautiful, treacherous country" (Irish Times).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781568586663
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	03/29/2011
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	851,921
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Ian Thomson is the author of Primo Levi, which won the Royal Society of Literature's W. H. Heinemann Award in 2003. He lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

…[Thomson] paints a nuanced portrait of a country brimming with both creative and murderous impulses.
—The New York Times

Joshua Hammer

Journalist Thomson (Bonjour Blanc) offers a portrait of contemporary Jamaica beyond the clichés of "golden beaches and guns, guns, guns." Thomson spoke to Jamaicans from all strata of society: white Jamaicans, beneficiaries of fortunes built on slave labor, now hiding in their crumbling plantation mansions, terrified of the encroaching violence; Rastafarians and Maroons; rabbis and priests; tired bureaucrats and armed youths; Indian and Chinese shopkeepers; the musicians and producers that have exported Jamaican music all over the globe. At times the book is overcrowded with characters and lacks a cohesive argument, but the elegant capsule histories of major figures and events ground the interviews in context. What emerges is a portrait of a country haunted by its colonial past, still trying to define itself apart from the two imperial powers (U.S. and British) that have shaped it thus far, and of a diverse people who struggle to hold on to their hope for a brighter future. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

In this excellent book, Thomson (Primo Levi: A Life) reveals the complexities of modern Jamaican life as lived by Jamaicans—poverty-stricken and violent, multicultural and rich with tradition. A fine ear for language and a journalist's nose for a good story make Thomson the perfect guide through island life, but his book is far more than a travelog. He delves into Jamaican history, politics, culture, religion, music, food, and economy, deftly weaving these macro-level issues with the lives of ordinary Jamaicans—white, black, multiracial, Chinese, and East Indian. He talks with white Jamaicans on the island, black Jamaicans in Britain, and everyone in between. Ultimately, the story is of a country still struggling with the legacies of colonialism and of a people deeply attached to their home but conflicted about where they belong in Jamaica and where Jamaica belongs in the world. VERDICT Thomson's obvious love for Jamaica makes the book that much more engaging, and he is a skilled enough writer that his affection never clouds his prose or tips it toward sentimentalism. A remarkable book that many readers of narrative nonfiction will appreciate. Highly recommended also to students of Caribbean studies.—Julie Biando Edwards, Univ. of Montana Lib., Missoula

Library Journal