Rosalind Juliet Mitchell could become one of the great heroines of modern fiction. She is a Jamaican Lolita and a Caribbean cross between Huck Finn and Liza Doolittle. Dirt poor, hungry, bright-eyed and determined, she clings to her one distant hope - Glenn Webber, an aging, uncertain American tourist. He is Humbert with a conscience, forced comically to confront one moral dilemma after another in an effort to comprehend a culture very different from his own. In this hilarious, erotic, heart-rending romp, we move from a bloody jungle killing to a Kingston beauty pageant, meeting on the way a supporting cast that includes a voodoo witch, a hip-hop dancer, an ebullient taxi driver, a sly Rasta-man, a ruthless voyeur, a stoned plant lady, a corrupt detective, a quirky pageant coach, some wild Jamaican strippers and an assortment of mountain peasants. Have you been to Jamaica, mon? Climbed the falls? Now immerse yourself in this tropical odyssey of struggle and triumph, and meet one of the most memorable heroines in modern imaginative literature.
NAT-876
Posted June 12, 2011
I READ BOTH "JAMAICA GIRL" AND "JAMAICA WOMAN". ALTHOUGH JAMAICA GIRL IS A FICTICIOUS NOVEL, ITS TRUE TO THE LIVES OF MANY GIRLS LIVING ON THIS BEAUTIFUL ISLAND. THE AUTHOR DID A SPECTACULAR JOB WITH THE STORY. I LOVE THE STYLE OF WRITING, AND ALSO THE MAIN CHARACTERS INVOLVED. GLENN AND ROSALIND ARE AN ODD COUPLE, BUT IT WAS NO COINCIDENT THAT THEY MET. WHAT AN AMAZING IMPACT GLENN MADE ON HER LIFE. I'M STILL CRAVING PART 3, AND WANT TO HEAR ALL ABOUT ROSALIND'S EXPERIENCE BEING A MOTHER AND WIFE. I HOPE THAT HER AND GLENN MIGRATES TO AMERICA. THIS BOOK WOULD DO REALLY GREAT IN THE THEATRE. BRAVO MR. JON MICHAEL MILLER! AWESOME TALENT.
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Posted August 17, 2005
Stella and Winston have everything in common but their ages¿they are black, beautiful, rich and cool. But Glenn and Rosalind have nothing in common. The issue in 'Stella' is simple in 'Jamaica Girl' there are issues upon issues and none are simple. In 'Stella' McMillan presents the Jamaican settings as idyllic, lush, and verdant, the result of wealth and commercialism - the manicured environment as aphrodisiac. No one in 'Stella' has poverty to contend with. It is the fantasy of a successful woman seeking stimulation. Like Stella, Glenn reclaims his groove in Jamaica. But Miller reveals Jamaican life far outside the sterilized confines of the all-inclusive resort. In 'Jamaica Girl' we see the reality of the land and of the people, a place where people must eke out their existences in a hostile world. He reveals the joy as well as the agony of that environment. Of the two books, Miller¿s is not only the braver but the truer. I greatly prefer 'Jamaica Girl.'
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Posted April 3, 2005
Anyone interested in Jamaican culture should read this book. The author must have incredible insight or has to be a native Jamaican. Wonderful book all around
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Posted March 18, 2005
This book is incredible. I love it! It is an incredible love story, certainly with a different twist and many anxious turns, and even though Glenn starts something not too many people would admire, in the end, I can't help but want the relationship to work. The characterization is phenomenal. Each character is so different, and exciting. This would make a great film. What I like about the writing is how all the subplots not only get resolved and some of them are pretty difficult, but all of them are somehow linked to the progression and end of the story. I really, absolutely love this story. This is such an unusual story and it touches so many different opinions and feelings, but I can't help but want Glenn & Rosie to make it. We are never responsible for whom we fall in love with, and in the beginning Glenn does try to do the right thing according to the rules where HE lives. But, there are other worlds and the reader has to think outside the box to fall in love with the relationship, and Mr. Miller has done that very well.
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Posted March 25, 2005
It is an amazing book. The authors grasp of Jamaican culture is incredible. This is a must read for lovers of the Carribean
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Posted March 13, 2005
'Jamaica Girl' is a heck of a book. The brief information on Jon Michael Miller on the back cover concludes that the Saint Petersburg, Florida, resident 'travels to Jamaica whenever he can.' The depth of detail and intimacy with the subject in his novel hint that he has racked up more frequent flyer miles than an Air Jamaica in-flight attendant. And that when Mr. Miller comes to Jamaica he stays. Glenn Webber and Rosalind Mitchell move from an initial meeting as she hitchhikes between Negril and Lucea to living together in a cottage in western Jamaica blissfully. Their union is accompanied by her growth from a shy, illiterate though certainly not unassertive girl just into her teens into a confident festival queen who takes the national title when she suggests 'less hands out and more eyes bright' for tourism. And Glenn, a middle-aged American, moves from being lacklustre about life and overweight to, on the final page walking to the edge of a cliff and doing 'a perfect swan dive into the blue-green sea', a happy man. And it also includes scheming, intrigue, murder, whitemail, visits to the provider of spells nearest you, near prostitution, licky licky police, Jamaican 'runnings' and, of course, sex - heady stuff indeed. The writer's skill is evident throughout Jamaica Girl. Especially impressive is his attention to detail in situations that are way outside the ken of even community tourism, with details of his trip to the Black Cherry go-go club, to the home which Rosalind visits to get a potion and to the waterfall and stream in the hills above Lucea where the young country miss grown into near international model lives. The perspectives of a foreigner on Jamaica are striking. Before Glenn and Rosalind have sex, his Jamaican friend Duane asked if he has yet 'kill it'. Glenn is shocked and it leads to a discussion between the two about how women are treated. Duane explains that with his woman Nicole, 'she do for me, me do for her'. Glenn replies: '...Maybe it's a Jamaican thing. But that's not the way I am. I'll feel responsible for her. I can't just think about my own lust, you know? I can't just play with her then throw her away like a used toy.' To which Duane advises: ¿Me tell you man, have some fun. Do it to her, then go home... Give her something, some nice clothes, some money. Then she's better off than most country girls. But don't worry for her. Jamaica girl strong, man. Believe me, Jamaica girl can carry on for them own self'. Miller's patois dialogue could do with some brushing up, but hey, what the heck.
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Posted February 3, 2005
Glen from Pennsylvania, in his mid-life crisis, has no inkling of what he is setting in motion by happily giving a ride to these two teenaged Jamaican girls. What is conversational pleasantry to him becomes no less than a promise of salvation to Rosalind riding, with her friend, in the back seat. This tale unfolds within a bubble of culture clash, which intensifies into impending tragedy ¿ except ¿ one could say, except that Rosalind seriously complicates things. This book is irresistible because of its shining Truth about these ¿simple, ordinary¿ people. Here is grinding poverty, yet so rich with life, that it shows us the poverty of our plentitude. I loved this book. I ruined a good nights¿ sleep over it. It enriched my heart.
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Posted February 3, 2005
Rescuing another person is always trickier than it may at first appear. Anyone who has tried it - through adoption, friendship or relationship - will discover the deep complications that inevitably occur. The question in ¿Jamaica Girl,¿ a novel I couldn¿t put down except to sleep, is: who rescues whom? For all her poverty and lack of education, young Rosalind shows her supposed sophisticated savior what manhood is all about. A wonderful reversal in a book full of surprises! I sent this book immediately to my sister, who shares my love of delicious literary treats!
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Posted January 19, 2005
I've always fantasized about running away to the islands and shacking up with a native girl. This novel has made me book my flight! Fantastique! A great reading experience!
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Posted January 19, 2005
This novel is sexy,sinful and sensational The relationship between Glen Webber, photographer from Lancaster, PA and Rosalind Juliet Mitchell, teenage native of Jamaica, might raise your eyebrows but you will not be able to close your eyes as you become facinated by their interaction. The dialogue moves the plot with alacrity and the plot is so evocative by the end of this page turner you might be making reservations to explore Jamaica! A first novel which is interesting, compelling and well done! EJBBBardsley- author of VISION QUESTS
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Posted November 10, 2004
Wonderfully written for an exotic, erotic, inexpensive visit to Jamaica ! Kudos abound !
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Posted November 1, 2004
As a college professor of literature, I am rarely moved to submit a review in this kind of venue, but after reading ¿Jamaica Girl,¿ I am eager to do what I can to help the book along. Despite the print-on-demand imprint, ¿Jamaica Girl¿ is a major piece of literature. I came to the book due to a recent trip to Jamaica in preparation for which I read several volumes about the island and its culture. Coming across Jon Michael Miller¿s novel was like finding a painting by Monet at a flea market. In this novel, Miller handles the complexities of point of view, theme, plot and character development as seemingly effortlessly as does any current novelist I know. The technique of separately presenting each of the protagonists¿ point of view creates a superb comic irony: the reader knows what the characters do not know about each other. Glenn and Rosalind¿s coming together is viewed by the reader like someone observing an impending train wreck from a helicopter. Miller also makes us feel the issues of exploitation, of love¿s boundaries, of the quagmire created by venturing out of one¿s own moral universe, and of Third World poverty and all of its implications. His storytelling ability kept even a jaded reader like me turning the pages, and the changes that occur in both Rosalind Mitchell and Glenn Webber are masterfully delineated stage-by-stage until at the end we realize that they have evolved into new individuals before our eyes. I will save a more detailed literary analysis for a more scholarly outlet, but if you are the kind of reader looking for more than the typical vacation read, one who demands literary quality of the highest sort, I recommend ¿Jamaica Girl¿ with the greatest enthusiasm.
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Posted November 1, 2004
I finished 'Jamaica Girl' during Hurricane Francis when I evacuated 3 days with my two dogs. I finished the book with a flashlight. I love this book. For me the highest point, the most dramatic - Oh, my God! - was when Rosalind drank the potion - coagulated vomit, rotten blood - Oh, my God! Also, the way the situation with Mr. Armand was handled - I never expected that. And Rosalind walking around everywhere trying to get used to wearing high heels - really! And the way Glenn handled that crooked cop, so brave for a quiet guy. I can't say enough! I loved it. It was like a piece of pie in the fridge. I saved it. I read a little every day, until I couldn't stop. It would make a great movie, but even more I want a sequel. I want to know what happens to Rosalind after all the things Glenn taught her. Just a fantastic book! Thanks so much for 'Jamaica Girl.'
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Posted November 2, 2004
When aging tourist Glenn Webber meets Rosalind Juliet Mitchell, a beautiful (too young for him) Jamaican girl, he becomes involved in an erotic adventure which he believes will be short-lived and without consequences. But both Rosalind and Glenn have very different agendas concerning their meeting and budding relationship; and this makes for conflict as well as having to face moral decisions. Our much-to-be-admired heroine, Rosalind, is filled with hope and dreams in spite of her dirt-poor existence. When she meets Glenn, she sees the answer to her breaking out of the entrenched poverty in which she lives. Set in Jamaica, our hero encounters a very different culture from his own--here we find a Voodoo witch, a Kingston style beauty pageant, a jungle murder, and a colorful cast of people who will not only delight you, but surprise you as well. Author Miller gives us a very sensitive and vivid picture of Jamaican life indicating an intimate understanding of its culture, especially of the underprivileged that tourists don't usually see (or care to see, for that matter). A warning: don't start reading this book unless you've got time to spare---it's a page turner and you won't want to put it down once started!
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Posted August 2, 2004
This is the best book I've read in a long time. I really liked the picture of Jamaican culture it presents because I have never been to Jamaica. I feel sorry for all the poor people over the world, and this story shows both the comedy and tragedy of poverty. But I especially like Rosalind, who tries to find a way out of her desperate life and who is saved by the quality of love in her heart. When I started reading, I couldn't stop, and I laughed sometimes and cried sometimes. I feel closer to the country of Jamaica, as if I visited there by reading the book. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great love story and who wants to find out about another culture.
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Overview
Rosalind Juliet Mitchell could become one of the great heroines of modern fiction. She is a Jamaican Lolita and a Caribbean cross between Huck Finn and Liza Doolittle. Dirt poor, hungry, bright-eyed and determined, she clings to her one distant hope - Glenn Webber, an aging, uncertain American tourist. He is Humbert with a conscience, forced comically to confront one moral dilemma after another in an effort to comprehend a culture very different from his own. In this hilarious, erotic, heart-rending romp, we move...