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The Confounding Island: Jamaica and the Postcolonial Predicament
The preeminent sociologist and National Book Award-winning author of Freedom in the Making of Western Culture grapples with the paradox of his homeland: its remarkable achievements amid continuing struggles since independence.
There are few places more puzzling than Jamaica. Jamaicans claim their home has more churches per square mile than any other country, yet it is one of the most murderous nations in the world. Its reggae superstars and celebrity sprinters outshine musicians and athletes in countries hundreds of times its size. Jamaica's economy is anemic and too many of its people impoverished, yet they are, according to international surveys, some of the happiest on earth. In The Confounding Island, Orlando Patterson returns to the place of his birth to reckon with its history and culture.
Patterson investigates the failures of Jamaica's postcolonial democracy, exploring why the country has been unable to achieve broad economic growth and why its free elections and stable government have been unable to address violence and poverty. He takes us inside the island's passion for cricket and the unparalleled international success of its local musical traditions. He offers a fresh answer to a question that has bedeviled sports fans: Why are Jamaican runners so fast?
Jamaica's successes and struggles expose something fundamental about the world we live in. If we look closely at the Jamaican example, we see the central dilemmas of globalization, economic development, poverty reduction, and postcolonial politics thrown into stark relief.
There are few places more puzzling than Jamaica. Jamaicans claim their home has more churches per square mile than any other country, yet it is one of the most murderous nations in the world. Its reggae superstars and celebrity sprinters outshine musicians and athletes in countries hundreds of times its size. Jamaica's economy is anemic and too many of its people impoverished, yet they are, according to international surveys, some of the happiest on earth. In The Confounding Island, Orlando Patterson returns to the place of his birth to reckon with its history and culture.
Patterson investigates the failures of Jamaica's postcolonial democracy, exploring why the country has been unable to achieve broad economic growth and why its free elections and stable government have been unable to address violence and poverty. He takes us inside the island's passion for cricket and the unparalleled international success of its local musical traditions. He offers a fresh answer to a question that has bedeviled sports fans: Why are Jamaican runners so fast?
Jamaica's successes and struggles expose something fundamental about the world we live in. If we look closely at the Jamaican example, we see the central dilemmas of globalization, economic development, poverty reduction, and postcolonial politics thrown into stark relief.
409 pages, Hardcover
First published November 12, 2019
34 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
About the author
Orlando Patterson
26 books87 followersOrlando Patterson is John Cowles Professor of Sociology at Harvard University; the author of Freedom in the Making of Western Culture, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and Slavery and Social Death; and the editor of The Cultural Matrix: Understanding Black Youth, for which he was awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. His work has been honored by the American Sociological Association and the American Political Science Association, among others, and he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served as Special Advisor for Social Policy and Development to Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley and was awarded the Order of Distinction by the Government of Jamaica.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 19, 2020
Read this over the summer and thought it was great. It is partly a love letter to Jamaica in all its messed up glory. You can see that aspect in Patterson’s recountings of his youth and paeans to small towns like his birthplace May Pen (and Toots Hibbert’s RIP). But Patterson also uses the Jamaican experience as a lens to look at much bigger issues: the long term impacts of slavery and colonialism and their mechanisms, the troubling connection between democracy and violence (very relevant in this shitshow of a 2020) and the heartbreaking difficulties of implementing policies to help the poorest members of society. That is what makes this book indispensable.
On both Tyler Cowen and Stephen Carter’s recommendations.
NYT review: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/bo...
On both Tyler Cowen and Stephen Carter’s recommendations.
NYT review: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/bo...
January 18, 2020
Well, Patterson has stayed true to the title of his book. It is as confounding as the island he writes about. The book started with some really great analysis and provided a number of insights into matters that have troubled the minds of many, for years. A few chapters, here and there, felt out of place, however and robbed the work of an otherwise deserved 5-star.
The contrasting assessment of Jamaica and Barbados' economies as well as the explanation for why Jamaicans run so fast were well researched and, honestly, brilliant additions to the book. The feeling is equal for other chapters in the book also. Patterson's ability to wrestle politics, history, geography and economic theory into submission while telling a coherent and logical story in these chapters is a beautiful thing to watch unfold. I genuinely felt intellectually enriched going through them.
I can't say the same for a few of the chapters, especially towards the end. It is confounding that they were included in the first place.
The chapter on why policies fail is a good example. It is mostly anchored in a first-person account of his involvement in the Kingston Urban Upgrading Project in a Michael Manley's constituency in Kingston back in the day. It didn't fit because it felt like him trying to absolve himself for any complicity in the failings of the project. I also get the sense that he was using the chapter to throw shade at those who added to the failure of the project with the added benefit of doing it many decades later when half of them are probably dead.
Reading that chapter felt like Patterson was putting together the final touches on the manuscript, felt like it needed something *more*, looked across at some old notes he had written and just chucked them in before sending the whole thing off to his publisher. It did not maintain the lofty standards of prior chapters in the book. The book would have been better without it and one or two others like it.
The epilogue does a fantastic job of pulling the various ideas together in a coherent narrative and left my feelings about the book in ascendance.
I admire Patterson's mind and the clarity he brings to, admittedly, complex matters in the text. Confounding Island endures a few misses but mostly hits the mark. If you care to understand why Jamaicans are the way we are or wish to grapple with the 'idea' of Jamaica, beyond convenient stereotypes and generic coffeetable talk, then I would happily recommend Patterson's book.
The contrasting assessment of Jamaica and Barbados' economies as well as the explanation for why Jamaicans run so fast were well researched and, honestly, brilliant additions to the book. The feeling is equal for other chapters in the book also. Patterson's ability to wrestle politics, history, geography and economic theory into submission while telling a coherent and logical story in these chapters is a beautiful thing to watch unfold. I genuinely felt intellectually enriched going through them.
I can't say the same for a few of the chapters, especially towards the end. It is confounding that they were included in the first place.
The chapter on why policies fail is a good example. It is mostly anchored in a first-person account of his involvement in the Kingston Urban Upgrading Project in a Michael Manley's constituency in Kingston back in the day. It didn't fit because it felt like him trying to absolve himself for any complicity in the failings of the project. I also get the sense that he was using the chapter to throw shade at those who added to the failure of the project with the added benefit of doing it many decades later when half of them are probably dead.
Reading that chapter felt like Patterson was putting together the final touches on the manuscript, felt like it needed something *more*, looked across at some old notes he had written and just chucked them in before sending the whole thing off to his publisher. It did not maintain the lofty standards of prior chapters in the book. The book would have been better without it and one or two others like it.
The epilogue does a fantastic job of pulling the various ideas together in a coherent narrative and left my feelings about the book in ascendance.
I admire Patterson's mind and the clarity he brings to, admittedly, complex matters in the text. Confounding Island endures a few misses but mostly hits the mark. If you care to understand why Jamaicans are the way we are or wish to grapple with the 'idea' of Jamaica, beyond convenient stereotypes and generic coffeetable talk, then I would happily recommend Patterson's book.
June 28, 2024
Jamaica – The Confounding Island: Thoughts
The actual title of this book by Orlando Patterson, is “The Confounding Island: Jamaica and the Postcolonial Predicament”. The author is a Professor of Sociology at Harvard University and it shows. His insights and citations are interesting, to say the least, however, they sometimes get in the way of the story that he is telling. A story that must be told: ‘why is Jamaica the way that it is?’
For you see:
· History matters, as real people lived it;
· People matter, as do the traumas that they suffered, for they can last for generations;
· Kindness matters – people with traumas need time and support to heal.
For as Patterson notes towards the end of his book, “The best way to improve the conditions of the poor was to help them to help themselves.” However, that does not mean that the poor do not need a boost, a helping hand, and some kindness.
Seven of the many lessons from the book:
1. Why are Jamaicans so fast? And that includes former Canadian hero and then goat, Ben Johnson – some will say that it is because only the strong could survive the horrors of Jamaican slave society. Perhaps, but the other concludes, “Jamaica’s global supremacy in running is due not to any single cause but to a unique conjunction of historical, sociocultural, coaching, public health, and locational factors.” Training, coaching, and the accessibility of the North American, and even the UK, helped.
2. Family life can be tough in Jamaica, going back to slavery times. It has been a culture where all too often, “Men abuse women and abandon their baby mothers. Overburdened, the mothers often take out their frustration and anger on their children, especially on their boys, until they are too old to handle them. The boys in turn, grow up to be abusive lovers and fathers, as is well known, a child abuse is the best predicator of adult violence.” That is a terrible circle of trauma that must be healed. Acknowledgement, education, and assistance, are a start.
3. Why is Jamaica so troubled, even violent, but feverishly democratic? “One of the earliest and most vigorous explanations of why democracies are less likely to go to war with each other rests on the internal cultural argument that the norms – both cultural and legal – of democracies foster a propensity to peacefully settle differences via courts and civil discourse.” The threat of elections is a useful counterbalance to revolution and war.
4. Jamaicans are not lazy. They are diffident when working for others – they want justice, and slavery did not provide justice. “Contrary to imperial and local elite racist propaganda, (Jamaicans) were extremely hard working when farming their own or leased lands, or working as artisans.”
5. The absentee ownership of the plantations in Jamaica, left managers that were just interested in this year’s production to achieve their bonuses. This was not capitalism, as the managers had no money in the game. The poor people of Jamaica suffered brutally. As the author explains, “The result was an extremely high rate of absentee ownership of estates, which itself resulted in the harsh treatment of slaves, since overseers and managers were paid on a commission basis and had little interest in preserving the slave ‘stock’.”
6. The legacy of slavery is hard on Jamaica. “Incredibly, more African slaves were imported to this little island (Jamaica) over the course of the slave trade than were imported to the entire continent of North and Central America.” That is just a stunning figure. We have been exposed to the horrors of the American South. How bad must Jamaica have been? Keep in mind that Jamaica has mountains and slaves could and did escape there and fought the British to a draw.
7. And finally, let’s end with some positive news. Jamaica has produced a wealth of music, including the famous and wonderful Bob Marley. Yes, Reggae is a Jamaican export. However, the first million selling album of all time is credited to another Jamaican raised icon, Harry Belafonte. “Thus the first album in the history of music to sell over a million copies is a collection of folk songs and folk-inspired compositions hailing not from Europe or America or Asia, but from Jamaica, featuring the mento peasant music of the island in the of “The Banana Boat Song” (also called “Day oh!), song by the Jamaican-raised Harry Belafonte.”
Runners, writers, musicians, community leaders, politicians, and more. Jamaica seems a wondrous place, with wonderful people and some posse’s and politicos that give it a horrendous reputation. Mr. Stewart, a friend of my father’s, was my introduction to good things from Jamaica. I would like to use this book and my relationships to find even more.
This is a book, like Jamaica, that can be hard to read. Too much information? Perhaps. However, there is a lot of insight as well. Might be a great addition to libraries in a Dummies format? Jamaica, Mon!
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2024...
#Blogging #Books #BookReview #Montreal #BusinessEnglish #LinoMatteo #Jamaica #OrlandoPatterson
3.5 rounded to 4...
The actual title of this book by Orlando Patterson, is “The Confounding Island: Jamaica and the Postcolonial Predicament”. The author is a Professor of Sociology at Harvard University and it shows. His insights and citations are interesting, to say the least, however, they sometimes get in the way of the story that he is telling. A story that must be told: ‘why is Jamaica the way that it is?’
For you see:
· History matters, as real people lived it;
· People matter, as do the traumas that they suffered, for they can last for generations;
· Kindness matters – people with traumas need time and support to heal.
For as Patterson notes towards the end of his book, “The best way to improve the conditions of the poor was to help them to help themselves.” However, that does not mean that the poor do not need a boost, a helping hand, and some kindness.
Seven of the many lessons from the book:
1. Why are Jamaicans so fast? And that includes former Canadian hero and then goat, Ben Johnson – some will say that it is because only the strong could survive the horrors of Jamaican slave society. Perhaps, but the other concludes, “Jamaica’s global supremacy in running is due not to any single cause but to a unique conjunction of historical, sociocultural, coaching, public health, and locational factors.” Training, coaching, and the accessibility of the North American, and even the UK, helped.
2. Family life can be tough in Jamaica, going back to slavery times. It has been a culture where all too often, “Men abuse women and abandon their baby mothers. Overburdened, the mothers often take out their frustration and anger on their children, especially on their boys, until they are too old to handle them. The boys in turn, grow up to be abusive lovers and fathers, as is well known, a child abuse is the best predicator of adult violence.” That is a terrible circle of trauma that must be healed. Acknowledgement, education, and assistance, are a start.
3. Why is Jamaica so troubled, even violent, but feverishly democratic? “One of the earliest and most vigorous explanations of why democracies are less likely to go to war with each other rests on the internal cultural argument that the norms – both cultural and legal – of democracies foster a propensity to peacefully settle differences via courts and civil discourse.” The threat of elections is a useful counterbalance to revolution and war.
4. Jamaicans are not lazy. They are diffident when working for others – they want justice, and slavery did not provide justice. “Contrary to imperial and local elite racist propaganda, (Jamaicans) were extremely hard working when farming their own or leased lands, or working as artisans.”
5. The absentee ownership of the plantations in Jamaica, left managers that were just interested in this year’s production to achieve their bonuses. This was not capitalism, as the managers had no money in the game. The poor people of Jamaica suffered brutally. As the author explains, “The result was an extremely high rate of absentee ownership of estates, which itself resulted in the harsh treatment of slaves, since overseers and managers were paid on a commission basis and had little interest in preserving the slave ‘stock’.”
6. The legacy of slavery is hard on Jamaica. “Incredibly, more African slaves were imported to this little island (Jamaica) over the course of the slave trade than were imported to the entire continent of North and Central America.” That is just a stunning figure. We have been exposed to the horrors of the American South. How bad must Jamaica have been? Keep in mind that Jamaica has mountains and slaves could and did escape there and fought the British to a draw.
7. And finally, let’s end with some positive news. Jamaica has produced a wealth of music, including the famous and wonderful Bob Marley. Yes, Reggae is a Jamaican export. However, the first million selling album of all time is credited to another Jamaican raised icon, Harry Belafonte. “Thus the first album in the history of music to sell over a million copies is a collection of folk songs and folk-inspired compositions hailing not from Europe or America or Asia, but from Jamaica, featuring the mento peasant music of the island in the of “The Banana Boat Song” (also called “Day oh!), song by the Jamaican-raised Harry Belafonte.”
Runners, writers, musicians, community leaders, politicians, and more. Jamaica seems a wondrous place, with wonderful people and some posse’s and politicos that give it a horrendous reputation. Mr. Stewart, a friend of my father’s, was my introduction to good things from Jamaica. I would like to use this book and my relationships to find even more.
This is a book, like Jamaica, that can be hard to read. Too much information? Perhaps. However, there is a lot of insight as well. Might be a great addition to libraries in a Dummies format? Jamaica, Mon!
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2024...
#Blogging #Books #BookReview #Montreal #BusinessEnglish #LinoMatteo #Jamaica #OrlandoPatterson
3.5 rounded to 4...
November 6, 2025
I think I actually finished it ages ago as in before I left in like May. I found it off Reddit and used it to write around 5 essays for school because this book is goated it has every bit of analysis you could ever want and it was well written and it was relevant since the guy was literally an economist for the government. I have so many little tabs coming out of this book it makes me feel so academic ngl I need to start bringing it out in public
Long live Jamaica ! And Barbados too but I don’t think that was the point of his research
Long live Jamaica ! And Barbados too but I don’t think that was the point of his research
July 17, 2022
I had started reading this book about two years ago but stopped because I got bored. This book was definitely more interesting the second time around, and I enjoyed the analyses of various aspects of Jamaica's nature which I had either only given passing thought to or not even considered before.
This was well-written, a mixture of historical analysis, economics, and contemporary sociology, giving attention to all aspects of Jamaica while still managing not to feel unfocused.
This was well-written, a mixture of historical analysis, economics, and contemporary sociology, giving attention to all aspects of Jamaica while still managing not to feel unfocused.
October 30, 2020
Similar to other essay collections, some in this book are better than others. I appreciated Mr. Patterson's portrait of Manley and his comparison of Jamaica and Barbados the best. There are few better (if any) sociological or historical books on Jamaica.
December 25, 2025
Wordy and disorganised at points, speculative and assertive at others (see chapter on cricket). Patterson’s recollections of Manley are the book’s great strength.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews