The best Caribbean historical novels related to piracy and the slave trade

Shiva Naipaul is a truly major Caribbean writer. He captures the volatile essence of that extremely unstable society. One added bonus is his inter-racial perspective, to which his Indian origins contributes decisively. This work ‘views a colonial world sharply with postcolonial perspectives.’ Any reader of West Indies fiction should combine a sense of history with some grasp of contemporary conditions. Although the novel was written in the 1960s, it still has a sense of contemporary relevance. Obviously, readers must keep their eyes open for younger writers in this mode. Naipaul’s works have rightly been integrated into the Educational System.      

I think it provides an excellent introduction to the West Indies to devotees of Bond movies and the like. In a highly contemporary way, via ‘disappearing ships and airplanes,’ it emphasises the continuity of an extremely hazardous, unstable environment. Readers should get a sense of affinity between the adventures and misadventures of early sailors with those supremely equipped with new tech. The fascination of buried treasure persists through the centuries.

Michener’s work is an historical panorama, embracing pre-Columbian history, the colonial era – including piracy, right up to the rise of Fidel Castro’s regime. ‘No holds barred.' An absolute ‘must’ for anyone wanting a full background perspective. I found this a fantastic broadener of my horizons. 

This work brilliantly puts the literary motif of ‘coming of age’ into a Caribbean context. It was set in the 1930s-40s. Novels which concentrate in depth on a specific period are highly beneficial to a reader’s sense of historical perspective. Stylistically, I very much appreciate its combination of first-person and third-person narration. In the Castle of My Skin tells the story of the mundane events in a young boy’s life that take place amid dramatic changes in the village and society in which he lives. The novel uses modernist devices such as shifting perspectives and unreliable narration to recount the boyhood of a fairly traditional fictional protagonist: a sensitive, unusually intelligent young boy, with a protective mother, who, because of his intelligence, takes an independent path.” 

For the British public, cricket is a major factor in awareness of the West Indies. It is also a critique of colonialism – introduced by the colonisers, which those taught truly made their own. C L R James, a prominent thinker of the twentieth century, was devoted to the game. In this classic summation of half a lifetime spent playing, watching, and writing about the sport, he recounts the story of his overriding passion and tells us of the players whom he knew and loved, exploring the game's psychology and aesthetics, and the issues of class, race, and politics that surround it. The author is “A central figure in the Pan-African movement and the struggle for colonial emancipation.” The socio-political theme is integrated with a study of Caribbean boyhood.