A Walk Around the West Indies Book

The blurb on the back tells us that A Walk Around the West Indies is "not really" a walking book, but "reflects several travel books with similar titles which Hunter Davies has already written, with great success". There is indeed precious little walking in Davies' latest oeuvre, unless you count his journeys to the minibar.Davies is a rich and grumpy traveller. Instead of gaining an insight into the Caribbean's complex culture and history by taking up the offer from a taxi driver to show him bullock cart racing in Guadeloupe, or the chance of staying with a poor family in Cuba, Davies details the trials and tribulations of the wealthy tourist--from the beastly racket of the air conditioning ("the only thing I ever dread in any hot country"), to the frightful Cuban resort without a bed to be had. Such tales are interspersed with interviews with ex-pats and local "returnees" from Europe. At times finding interesting material is a stretch for Davies, and at one point he frets to his wife that he cannot find anyone to interview, so what will he write about? His wife refuses to be sympathetic: "I'm on holiday. Why don't you try it for a change?" she snaps. Some readers may share her frustration. --Tabitha VertRead More