Once I started reading the biography, John Compton: Power, Struggle and the Making of a Nation, by Dr. Anderson Reynolds, I had to remain with it until the end. I am aware that I am repeating a cliché, but I choose to start this review with a truth that strikes instantly.
John Compton is an interesting story. Here, I refer to the man, but the story of John Compton is synonymous with the story of the development of post-colonial Saint Lucia. Dr. Reynolds sticks to the form of conventional biography and follows the chronological development of this outstanding figure, thereby facilitating easy read through the history of Saint Lucia from the 1950s up to the millennium. This is a crucial period leading to the birth of the nation.
The chronological tale is one approach that makes Dr. Reynolds’s book smooth and easy reading. He traces Compton’s humble beginnings from the tiny island of Canouan where he was born, then takes us along the journey to his migration to Saint Lucia, where he received a secondary education at the island’s top educational institution at the time, the famous Saint Mary’s College. Dr. Reynolds continues the narrative of Compton’s journey to Curacao and his subsequent pursuit of higher education in the United Kingdom before returning to Saint Lucia, where he plunged almost immediately into the workers’ struggle and elective politics. We can tell from the start that we are going to follow the journey of a small island boy who would become an exceptional figure of his time.
Dr. Reynold’s biography of John Compton is also an easy read, as it appears he is deliberately targeting the average reader. While it is true that an academic will find the chronological narrative of significant events in Saint Lucia’s social and political history immensely valuable, the book does not employ the heavy academic jargon that would constantly send the reader to Google to unpack meaning.
The language is everyday; it reads like the storytelling of an old friend whose mentor has died and who wishes the world to receive an account from the family and its inner circle. This is also what makes the book super interesting. Although Dr. Reynolds does not shy away from including the voices critical of Compton, his objective is to map the hero’s trajectory, to show where he was going and to have the reader follow his vision for the development of Saint Lucia.
One should not let my comments on the simplicity of Dr. Reynold’s writing suggest in any way a flippancy regarding the chronicling of historical events. His earlier publications such as The Struggle for Survival, Saint Lucia at a Crossroads and They Called Him Brother George, all reflect his passion for research into Saint Lucia’s social and political history. Indeed, this latest publication is quite detailed in its anchoring of the major local, regional and global events that posed mammoth challenges for the life and politics of John Compton. The Sugar Cane unrests of the 1950s, the Independence controversies of the late 1970s, the Banana riots of the 1990s; Dr. Reynolds goes into the bellies of all these socio-political monsters and turns them out to expose the horrific challenges that Compton faced and endured as leader.
Thus, Dr. Reynolds’ own training as an academic is evident. This biography is quite structured. Paragraphs and subtitles organize the entire text and carefully guide the reader. This aspect of the text should prove very useful for teachers in our secondary schools, as they can organize lessons and point students to epochs of Saint Lucia’s social or political history that they wish to bring into focus, one period at a time. This book should certainly make the list of CXC recommended texts in the fields of History and Social Studies.
John Compton: Power, Struggle and the Making of a Nation, by Dr. Anderson Reynolds, is a long-awaited book. It should be mandatory reading for all Saint Lucians aged 11 and over and for all readers interested in the Caribbean’s social and political history.
About Dr. Travis Weekes
Dr. Travis Weekes is an award-winning Saint Lucian actor, poet, playwright, theatre director, and cultural critic. He currently serves as Theatre Coordinator and lecturer in the Department of Creative and Festival Arts at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. Dr. Weekes is the author of several books, including the play Take Me to Mon Repos; the poetry collection Let There Be Jazz; Bodies, Memories and Spirits, a commentary on folk culture; and the plays The Fight for Belle Vue and The Field of Power.