Bahamas - Thine is the Kingdom by Garth Buckner
This week, I read Thine Is the Kingdom by Garth Buckner. The Bahamas were a tough country to find books for. Luckily, I found Ann Morgan’s amazing Blog about her own literary journey around the world. This quest has been an awesome process of discovering fellow readers and learning from their adventures!
Thine is the Kingdom is the story of Gavin Blake, a white Bahamian, who is attempting to claim his citizenship after years of traveling. Blake’s father was American and under Bahamian law that makes Blake American despite where he was born or who his mother was. As he attempts to gain acceptance in his home, Blake becomes involved with both wealthy outsiders and poor native Bahamians. More and more Blake sees the similarities in the corruption of the Bahamian criminal elements and the rich people that he has to work for.
Buckner’s book was a good read. He provides excellent descriptions of Blake’s Bahamas. From the Bahamas you see if you arrive on a cruise ship to the Bahamas you see if you are born to the Bahamian lower class. He gives the reader a true sense of the place, which is exactly what I hoped this quest would provide. I also enjoyed Buckner’s insights into the emotions of the book’s characters. Sometimes, characters seem to act more in service to the plot rather than being true to their character. With Buckner, he always explains emotionally why his characters deviate from who they are supposed to be. It made for an enjoyable read!
Next week, we head east to Bahrain with QuixotiQ by Ali Al Saeed.