Author: Rudy Gurley

ISBN: 1427605351

If there is one element that sets apart interesting personal narratives from those that are downright boring, it is the narrator’s ability to take on the role analogous to that of an actor in a drama who vividly and effectively shares his or her experiences with the reader. These experiences can be built around one single remarkable event or it may be of a general tale comprising several events in one’s life. What is vital is that the author must clearly convey his or her passion in the understanding of these experiences and how they had a profound effect on their life.

Inspired by Norman Vincent Peale’s, The Power of Positive Thinking, Caribbean author, Rudy Gurley, strikes just the right tone in his debut personal narrative, A Caribbean Tale. Best of all, the book is modest and carefully crafted devoid of rambling that so often prevails in memoirs.

It is an incredible tale recounting how Gurley along with his sister Roslyn were abandoned by their unmarried teenage parents when he was just an infant. Gurley, as a young lad, vowed that no matter what the odds against him were he would one day become an accountant and hold down a prestigious post in St. Lucia where he was born and raised by his aunt Sheila.

Gurley’s account is warm and direct with a bit of humor thrown in, calling to mind not only particular times and places in his life but the distinctive landscapes between his childhood and adulthood. Moreover, he does a masterful job of conveying the confusion of trying to understand his world of a child pleading with his aunt to tell him where his parents were, only to be assured that they were living in England and that he and his sister would soon be joining them.  For Gurley, the only evidence that they did in fact exist were the pictures that adorned the living room wall where he lived.

The book glides effortlessly from Gurley’s early school days until he reaches his ultimate goal in becoming an accountant. In between we learn of Gurley’s many uphill battles such as his temporary loss of his sight, his three month hospital stay after he was beaten over the head up by a relative, his ordeal in surviving St. Lucia’s worst hurricane, an incredible mishap when he sat for his final accountancy exams, poverty when living in England and attending college, disappointment when he meets up with his mother, and his initial failure to track down his father. The memories of all of these events are intense, as readers vicariously relive them with Gurley, who eventually comes to grips with how they all played an important role in the molding of his character towards his steadfast voyage to success.

More and more people want to have their story told however, if the tale is uninteresting and badly narrated, it will ultimately fall flat on its face. Such is not the case with A Caribbean Tale, where not only do we have a great story, but an author with a refreshing style and the agility with language wherein he seems never to have to search for the appropriate phrase or word. The good news is that there is a sequel in the works and I look forward to hearing once again from this gifted author.

 The above review of the ARC copy of A Caribbean Tale was contributed by  NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor of Bookpleasures. Here are more of  Norm Goldman's Reviews 

To read Norm's Interview With Author Rudy Gurley CLICK HERE