Book Review Island People
This was one of those ebooks I purchased a long while ago, but it had been sitting on my TBR list for the longest time. Then the pandemic happened, and I needed a book to help me escape from the health and racial tragedies happening in real-time, but also where I can engross myself in learning something new.
I pleasantly found both of these qualities in Joshua Jelly-Schapiro’s Island People: The Caribbean and the World. Most books about this region of the world usually focus on the fun aspects for the tourist-minded – the beaches, the sun, the food, etc. However, Island People goes beyond the tropical hype and focuses on little-known historical and cultural anecdotes. One main point throughout the book the author makes a point of is that globalization began in earnest in the Caribbean, which was at one point was the center of all global economic growth. Whether it’s reggae music in Jamaica, the meaning of “cubanidad” in Havana, or colorism on the Dominican Republic/Haitian border, the region was also heavily influenced by cultural and racial integration by way of colonialism and slavery.