The Traveller's Tree: A Journey Through the Caribbean Islands
by Patrick Leigh Fermor
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In the late 1940s Patrick Leigh Fermor, now widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's greatest travel writers, set out to explore the then relatively little-visited islands of the Caribbean. Rather than a comprehensive political or historical study of the region, The Traveller's Tree, Leigh Fermor's first book, gives us his own vivid, idiosyncratic impressions of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, Barbados, Trinidad, and Haiti, among other islands. Here we watch Leigh Fermor walk the show more dusty roads of the countryside and the broad avenues of former colonial capitals, equally at home among the peasant and the elite, the laborer and the artist. He listens to steel drum bands, delights in the Congo dancing that closes out Havana's Carnival, and observes vodou and Rastafarian rites, all with the generous curiosity and easy erudition that readers will recognize from his subsequent classic accounts A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. show lessTags
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AfroFogey Mr. Fermor insights and wonderful writing will bring travel alive for you, no matter what nation or region he is traveling through. He is the definition of a traveler the opposite of a tourist.
Member Reviews
I had never heard of Patrick Leigh Fermor until he passed away in 2011. Many book sites touted him as one of the greatest travel writers of the 20th century. I was unable to find his masterpiece, A Time of Gifts at my local book stores so I bought this book instead (plus his short book about European monasteries). This book was published in 1950 and covers Fermor's travels with friends in 1947.
Fermor and friends traveled to Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, Barbados, Trinidad, Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts, St Eustatius, Saba, St Martin, St Thomas, Haiti and Jamaica. He covers the history, esp political and colonial, of most of the islands. He discusses the racial mix of the population on each island and how the races interact show more with each other (or not). Some of the islands are discussed in depth -- Haiti has 3 chapters!! - and some are just touched on. I could have done without the cockfighting and voodoo sacrifice section of the Haiti chapters, but, then those chapters wouldn't have been so comprehensive. I enjoyed the chapter on Trinidad and why it happens to have such a large Hindu population.
Fermor notices signs of what he calls the Coca-Cola plague throughout the islands, remarking: The propaganda drive of this firm has been so intensive and so ruthlessly efficient in it's execution, that never for a second are the words Coca-Cola out of one's sight. It is on a scale that nobody who has not crossed the Atlantic can hope to grasp. They are printed on almost everything you touch. Everywhere the beaming heroines of these great advertisements smirk and simper and leer. It becomes the air you breathe, a way of life, an entire civilization - the Coca-Cola age, yokefellow of the age of the Atomic Bomb.
This is not considered one of Fermor's best books. It was well written but somewhat disorganized. I hope to enjoy his other works more than I did this book. show less
Fermor and friends traveled to Guadeloupe, Martinique, Dominica, Barbados, Trinidad, Grenada, St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts, St Eustatius, Saba, St Martin, St Thomas, Haiti and Jamaica. He covers the history, esp political and colonial, of most of the islands. He discusses the racial mix of the population on each island and how the races interact show more with each other (or not). Some of the islands are discussed in depth -- Haiti has 3 chapters!! - and some are just touched on. I could have done without the cockfighting and voodoo sacrifice section of the Haiti chapters, but, then those chapters wouldn't have been so comprehensive. I enjoyed the chapter on Trinidad and why it happens to have such a large Hindu population.
Fermor notices signs of what he calls the Coca-Cola plague throughout the islands, remarking: The propaganda drive of this firm has been so intensive and so ruthlessly efficient in it's execution, that never for a second are the words Coca-Cola out of one's sight. It is on a scale that nobody who has not crossed the Atlantic can hope to grasp. They are printed on almost everything you touch. Everywhere the beaming heroines of these great advertisements smirk and simper and leer. It becomes the air you breathe, a way of life, an entire civilization - the Coca-Cola age, yokefellow of the age of the Atomic Bomb.
This is not considered one of Fermor's best books. It was well written but somewhat disorganized. I hope to enjoy his other works more than I did this book. show less
Patrick Leigh Fermor's classic account of travelling through the West Indies in the immediate post-war years. This book is an indispensable account of a changing region, well-written by an author with a sharp but sympathetic eye and ear.
A ramble round a number of Caribbean islands - described in a rambling sort of way. Not PLF's best writing, IMHO.
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May 12, 2021Catalan
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Here we watch Leigh Fermor walk the dusty roads of the countryside and the broad avenues of former colonial capitals, equally at home among the peasant and the elite, the laborer and the artist. He listens to steel drum bands, delights in the Congo dancing that closes out Havana’s Carnival, and observes vodou and Rastafarian rites, all with the generous curiosity and easy erudition that show more readers will recognize from his subsequent classic accounts A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water. show less
added by John_Vaughan
Author Information
25+ Works 9,707 Members
Patrick Leigh Fermor was born in London, England on February 11, 1915. During World War II, he was the architect of the kidnapping of the commander of the German garrison on Crete. He wrote several books including A Time of Gifts, Between the Woods and the Water, The Traveller's Tree, The Violins of Saint-Jacques, Mani, and Roumeli. He was also a show more translator. He received a military OBE in 1943. He died on June 10, 2011 at the age of 96. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Traveller's Tree: A Journey Through the Caribbean Islands
- Original publication date
- 1950
- People/Characters
- Patrick Leigh Fermor
- Important places
- Caribbean Region
Classifications
- Genres
- Travel, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 917.29 — History & geography Geography & travel Geography of and travel in North America Mexico, Central America, And The Caribbean West Indies and Bermuda; Caribbean Area
- LCC
- F1611 .F4 — Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin America Latin America. Spanish America West Indies
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 387
- Popularity
- 80,497
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.56)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 14
- ASINs
- 4
