Richard McGarry

Books On Tape Richard McGarry

On most Caribbean islands, small "dollar busses" traverse the highways to the rhythms of soca and reggae. On Bequia, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, one driver dares to be different, substituting the syncopated rhythms of Caribbean song with the narrated voice. At daybreak each morning, Goodwill McPherson, collects a vanload of islanders going to work, going to school or simply boarding to ride. With the help of his precocious twelve-year old assistant, Royster Fields, Goodwill takes them on a journey to distant places, and introduces them to characters whose stories are like their own. Bequia's "crazy woman," Charlene Hebblethwaite, spends her time roaming the island in a stupor, talking to herself. One summer day, Charlene decides to ride Goodwill's Jah's Magic Carpet and listen to the The English Patient, setting in motion a series of tragic and redemptive events which will transform a small group of people brought together by the power of narrative. Books On Tape is that compelling account. And while this story is spiced with the gentle breezes of the islands, the account reaches far beyond the small speck of green land in the southern Caribbean and becomes one to which everyone can relate.