A High Wind in Jamaica

A fascinating study in child psychology

New York Times

A hot draught of mad, primal fantasy and poetry

Rebecca West

Never once has he struck a false note

Vita Sackville-West

A thrillingly good book

Martin Amis

What starts as merely masterful storytelling becomes something dreamlike and haunting; it's not a book you easily forget

Independent on Sunday

Before Lord of the Flies there was A High Wind in Jamaica, an unflinching, wryly observed portrait of the madness of children

Guardian

On one level it's an exciting adventure story with great storms and earthquakes, terrific animals, unruly children and some dubious pirates. What more, when young, could you want? But all this coexists with another narrative, darker and more sophisticated, complex and tragic. You can read this book over again and have read a different novel.

Michael Holroyd, Guardian

A surreal novel of childhood adventure that turns how we see the human mind upside down

John Gray, The Observer

I read Richard Hughes' A High Wind in Jamaica this year and felt breathless with shock and awe. Appallingly dark story.dreadfully funny.

Meg Rosoff, Independent

When I really like a book I'll sometimes read a passage or two aloud to whoever's nearby; this one I'd happily recite cover-to-cover

Imogen Hermes Gowar