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Wild Coast Travels on South America's Untamed Edge

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 59; Linguagem: Inglês

2470-6302

Lomarsh Roopnarine,

Caribbean history, culture, and politics

John Gimlette, Wild Coast: Travels on South America's Untamed Edge. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. 358 pp._john gimlette's book is a personal account of a daring journey through the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana). The author/traveller uses local residents, tour guides, as well as some academic research to help him throughout his journey. One feels compelled to ask, how different is this book from other published books written by Europeans on the Guianas? Unfortunately, it is not that much different, but in defence of the author, there are good reasons for this. Arguably, the Guianas are the most mysterious countries in South America and the Caribbean. Geographically, they are not considered part of Latin America, even though they are located in South America. They are also considered part of the Caribbean, but they are generally marginalised. Moreover, an estimated 90 percent of the population, mainly former enslaved Africans and East Indian indentured servants, lives on the narrow, humid coastlands. More than fourth-fifths of the region is forested and is home to about a hundred thousand Amerindians. The coastlands and the interior regions are like different countries separated by rough terrain, impassable roads and rivers, as well as unforgiving jungle. Except for some recent developments and events, such as large foreign companies' participation in gold mining and forestry and the defunct Jim Jones settlement (Jonestown), the interior regions remain unspoiled. Life on the coastlands has not experienced major transformation since colonial days, except for the out-migration of people. Hence, it is conceivable that if the colonialists were to come back to the Guianas, they would recognise it, despite not having had any connection for three hundred years. This is why Gimlette, in his modern-day journey, was able to draw amazing parallels with European historical accounts of the Guianas.Gimlette starts the account of his journey in Guyana, and impressively captures race relations between Africans and East Indians, polarised politics between the two major political parties, and the general cultural beat of Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. A sorrowful but vivid account of Jonestown is documented, giving readers an update on the historical and contemporary state of Jonestown. The area is all but abandoned. The description of the area, however, might be useful to the Guyanese government insofar as re-opening Jonestown to promote tourism to bring in badly needed revenues. The other places that appear to have fascinated the author in Guyana are Golden Rupununi and Bloody Berbice. The former is a remote area bordering Brazil, while the latter is one of the three counties of Guyana bordering Suriname. These places are two different worlds. Rupununi is savannah land, and until recently the only way to get there was to embark on a month-long boat ride. Life in Rupununi revolves around European and traditional Amerindian ways. Berbice experienced one of the major slave revolts in the Americas, and is also home to the largest concentration of East Indians in Latin America and the Caribbean. Gimlette focuses on the historical rather than the contemporary condition of these aforementioned places, which may disappoint readers. …