God Carlos
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This tragicomic novel set in sixteenth-century Jamaica is a “gusty, boisterous, [and] entertaining . . . slice of historical fiction” (Alan Cheuse, NPR, All Things Considered).
Winner of the 2014 Townsend Prize for Fiction
A fortune-seeking band of ragtag sailors travel aboard the Santa Inez, a Spanish vessel bound for the newly discovered West Indies. She is an unusual explorer for her day, carrying no provisions for the settlers and no seed for planting crops, and manned by vain, arrogant men looking for gold in Jamaica.
The crew expects to make landfall in paradise after over a month at sea. Meanwhile, the timid, innocent Arawaks—who walk around stark naked without embarrassment and who venerate their own customs and worship their own gods—think these newcomers must have come from heaven. The ensuing entanglement of culture, custom, and beliefs makes for a “comic, tragic, bawdy, sad, and provocative” novel (Library Journal).
“Darkly irreverent . . . With a sharp tongue, Winkler, a native of Jamaica, deftly imbues this blackly funny satire with an exposé of colonialism’s avarice and futility.” —Publishers Weekly
“Well-written . . . Winkler’s descriptions of sea and sky as seen from a sailing ship, and of the physical beauty of Jamaica, are spot-on and breathtaking.” —Historical Novel Review
“A thoroughly engaging adventure story from a renowned Jamaican author, sure to enchant readers who treasure a fabulous tale exquisitely rendered.” —Library Journal
“Every country (if she’s lucky) gets the Mark Twain she deserves, and Winkler is ours.” —Marlon James, author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The protagonist of Winkler's darkly irreverent new novel (after Dog War) is a 16th-century Spanish sailor named Carlos, cursed with a "misshapen" face, "gnomic" features, and a "voracious appetite for slaughter." Despite his physical and intellectual shortcomings, the "instinctively submissive" Carlos has long entertained a "dream of being godlike." An opportunity to fulfill his heretical fantasy arises when he is offered passage on the Santa Inez, a ship bound for Jamaica, where, a fellow sailor informs him, the natives "were exceedingly friendly with their visitors from overseas, whom they regarded as gods." Once the ship arrives, "unannounced like a thief," the "merciless" crewmembers slay the native Arawak men and rape the women, yet Carlos nevertheless manages to find a believer in the young, impressionable, Orocobix, who kneels before "God Carlos," and watches as his idol engages in many of the same activities as his countrymen, "such as eating, sleeping, and relieving themselves." Though the sailor revels in his newfound deism, one devotee may not be enough to save Carlos from the consequences of his vanity. With a sharp tongue, Winkler, a native of Jamaica, deftly imbues this blackly funny satire with an expos of colonialism's avarice and futility.
