Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 I expected more October 13, 2008
Ms. J. O'neill (Scotland)
I had seen many reviews about this book. The story sounded intriguing with Errol Flynn as the hook for this story. I wasn't too sure about the real life character and fictional story working. I didn't find this worked well. For me, it divided the book into a glamourous surreal life on Navy Island, where Hollywood came and did what it liked, in a sense taking advantage of Jamaica and the people. Although there were many good characters in the story, I felt, there could have been more depth to their stories. A lot of unfinished detail. I found the letter writing of Ida and May quite immature, those paragraphs being the least caputring. I sympathised with the people during the unrest in the country, following the troubles in Cuba. The Jamaicans divided and fighting about who best to contiue to govern their island. Worth reading, but don't expect too much.
Sheer froth October 4, 2008
The Pirate's Daughter felt much like a roller coaster - impossible to get off once you're on but leaving you feeling dizzy, slightly sick and rather regretting spending so much time on it....
The plot starts off well enough - Errol Flyn's yacht washes up in Jamaica, he decides to stay, a beautiful young girl falls in love with him, has his baby, gets abandoned - so far, so summer blockbuster. Sadly, after a cracking start, the novel loses its way slightly. The action never lets up and it's got it all - poverty and politics, death and drugs, mistaken identity and heartbreaking love affairs in spades - but ultimately, one feels that the author is trying to do too much. There's so much going on that even the characters seem to be confused, with their actions rarely tallying with what you might have expected.
In short, it's worth a read, and it's great fun in parts. But if you want a coherent plot with strong characters who convince you of their motivation, then I'm afraid you're looking in the wrong place....
 Frangipani-scented delight! September 22, 2008
K. A. Norris (Scotland)
I bought 'The Pirate's Daughter' in the vain hope that I could find a book that would hold me rapt with attention through to the end. Though living with such a demanding imagination, I didn't have much faith. Yet, I began to read and it did not take very long to realise that this book was nothing short of enchanting.
As the plot unfolds it becomes clear that Margaret Cezair-Thompson has a real talent for keeping the reader hooked. She has a true flair for making one feel intrinsic to the very environment of which she has written; you feel part of Jamaica and the incredible Navy Island. How she does this I'm not quite sure, but there is no doubt in my mind that she does it effectively and somewhat effortlessly, at that.
The mellifluous tone used, allowing her to move seamlessly from one event to the next, lets the reader trip from one breathtaking moment to another, with ease. Every page seems to burst with such delightful description of an exquisite place, much like the very frangipani-scent described upon them.
As a reader you feel you are experiencing the life-times of the main protagonists, along-side them. Thus, the reader is ensured to undergo an immense feeling upon finishing the book, eager for more of the lives of both Ida and May, at the least.
Having never read about Jamaica until now, I feel deprived of years of a passion for such a magical place, of which I previously had no true knowledge. This book is not only about the renowned movie-star Errol Flynn, nor is it focused upon the people who he involves himself with along the story; this book is decidedly meant to show the way of island-life, more deeply so: an emotive account of the history which Jamaica has suffered, its' beauty throughout the time and the inner core of it's people.
I, for one, cannot wait to see what else Margaret Cezair-Thompson has to come!
 Apart from the smell of the bouganvillea not much to recommend September 2, 2008
J. Ing (Oxford)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is readable, but only just. There is a story, as the other reviewers have explained, but I found myself uncaring of the ending. The writing lacks depth and the narrative style is commonplace. There is no more to the story than what happens, unless perhaps, the tropical setting, which, for one based in rain-soaked England, is alluring. I wonder what makes the book successful for others? Perhaps the link to Hollywood? Perhaps the lack of profundity? I don't know, but I hope that this review will enable readers to consider a range of views about this rather 'so what?' book.
Readable-just! August 20, 2008
Ms. C. Robinson (birmingham uk)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was really looking forward to Richard and Judys summer reads but this book really dissapointed me. It missed a good storyline and often I thought it included to much uneccessary detail. I found it quite boring and often thought of just giving up on it. Would not reccomend.
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