Review
3.5 Stars - The Jumbee By Pamela Keyes is a modern retelling of the classic – The Phantom of the Opera. Fans will easily find much to love about the characters and story as Keyes found ways to make this classic all her own.
Set in a culture rich in legends and superstitions on an Island in the Caribbean I questioned just how this would work for such a tale. I admit that it took me until about halfway through the book to truly get into things when it came to both story and characters. I had a hard time figuring out just how this even resembled the Phantom of the Opera and also connecting with each of our main characters. I believe I had a hard time because of the culture and their superstitions and how much these and the classic story overlapped. I did more than enjoy learning about the culture and their superstitions, I just felt a bit confused with that part of the story and how it would all come together and what part it would play in this retelling.
Each of our main characters – Esti, Alan and soon Rafe – They were a bit… flat in the first half of the book. I didn’t feel I had any connection with them and I truly believed that came from my confusion. The second half of the book each of the characters seemed to change and become more alive. I understood more of Esti and her want to know just who Alan was and if he was a true Jumbee or an actual person. And then Alan seemed to change as well and more of the puzzle pieces fell into place as the story continued to progress. Rafe might not have been a character that was throughout the whole book, but I felt he was part of the reasons both Esti and Alan’s characters came more real so to speak.
If not for the second half of the book, I wouldn’t have been able to give it the rating that I did. I would have enjoyed it even more so if there would have been an epilogue letting us know what happened a year from when the story concluded. I’d like to have seen more of how Esti came out further from behind her fathers shadow and lived more in the present instead of his fame in the past. Also, I finally felt bad for Alan in those last few pages of the book. I wondered what would happen to him as well.
All in all, the Jumbee is perfect for anyone looking for a modern retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. Keyes has taken the classic and infused it with tales from the Caribbean Islands and created something completely different from anything else I’ve ever read.
For more info and reviews please visit my Book Review Blog here - A Life Bound By Books
Set in a culture rich in legends and superstitions on an Island in the Caribbean I questioned just how this would work for such a tale. I admit that it took me until about halfway through the book to truly get into things when it came to both story and characters. I had a hard time figuring out just how this even resembled the Phantom of the Opera and also connecting with each of our main characters. I believe I had a hard time because of the culture and their superstitions and how much these and the classic story overlapped. I did more than enjoy learning about the culture and their superstitions, I just felt a bit confused with that part of the story and how it would all come together and what part it would play in this retelling.
Each of our main characters – Esti, Alan and soon Rafe – They were a bit… flat in the first half of the book. I didn’t feel I had any connection with them and I truly believed that came from my confusion. The second half of the book each of the characters seemed to change and become more alive. I understood more of Esti and her want to know just who Alan was and if he was a true Jumbee or an actual person. And then Alan seemed to change as well and more of the puzzle pieces fell into place as the story continued to progress. Rafe might not have been a character that was throughout the whole book, but I felt he was part of the reasons both Esti and Alan’s characters came more real so to speak.
If not for the second half of the book, I wouldn’t have been able to give it the rating that I did. I would have enjoyed it even more so if there would have been an epilogue letting us know what happened a year from when the story concluded. I’d like to have seen more of how Esti came out further from behind her fathers shadow and lived more in the present instead of his fame in the past. Also, I finally felt bad for Alan in those last few pages of the book. I wondered what would happen to him as well.
All in all, the Jumbee is perfect for anyone looking for a modern retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. Keyes has taken the classic and infused it with tales from the Caribbean Islands and created something completely different from anything else I’ve ever read.
For more info and reviews please visit my Book Review Blog here - A Life Bound By Books
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