ASYLUM ISLAND

by Hilton Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 30, 1950

An English importation recounts the opera bouffe happenings on the Caribbean island of Lassou when the present Consul and the ex-consul are murdered. It is the work of the minor Machiavalli, Strathdee, to insure the succession of his pupil, Telemaque, that offers quite lively entertainment, for Florian, the son of the dead ex-consul, arrives with La Chouis, his intricately scheming secretary, to oust Telemaque. Florian is eye-catching, flamboyant, and backed by an interested South American state; Telemaque is a ""decent little mut"", steeped in the Christian religion and unwilling to fight for his rights; the battle therefor is between Strathdee and La Chuie, with Strathdee, in canny Scots fashion, coming out the winner when he enlists the backing of a local witch doctor and the Negroes. An Island that is bats, crazy, lunatic, and a refuge, a cast that ranges from white to mulatto and Negro, and situations that verge on the fantastic are combined in bouncy style, which is not marked by finesse.

Pub Date: Jan. 30, 1950

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1950

Categories: FICTION