Book Review: A tale of colonisation and religious delusion

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Title: God Carlos
Author: Anthony C. Winkler, 2012
Publisher: Akashic Book, New York
Reviewer: Dr Glenville Ashby, [e-mail]
Ratings: Highly recommended

Published: Sunday | November 18, 2012

Jamaican writer Anthony Winkler marches through time - from Cadiz, Spain, to the New World, in the mercurial God Carlos.

Set in the early half of the 16th century, Winkler captures the exploits of Spanish seamen embarking on a potentially perilous journey in search of fortune. Carlos Antonio Maria Eduardo Garcia de la Cal Fernandez (an interestingly lengthy name) assumes the role of protagonist. A crude, surly, megalomaniac with gnomic features, his borderline sociopathy creates tension among the crew - an uneasiness that devolves into a deadly confrontation. It's Carlos' second murder at the mere age of 25.

At this juncture, the stage is primed for a baleful encounter between these adventurers and unsuspecting natives of Jamaica.

But beyond the inevitable fate of these natives, viz, the Arawaks, and the indictment of European marauders, is Winkler's peer into the delusions of religions - whether mainstream or indigenous. His case is compelling, after all, Carlos proves a murderous knave - a Catholic (mind you) who blankets himself with religiosity after every disdainful thought or action - willing to buy absolution from "from a roaming pardoner".

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121118/arts/arts4.html