Killer of Crying Deer, by William Orem

Late 17^th century Caribbean piracy and lawlessness are the backdrop for this interesting and well-crafted tale of a boy’s intellectual and physical growth among the native peoples of the Florida Keys. Abducted by pirates early in his trip to the “new world,” the boy Henry becomes a favorite of the pirate captain Whitepaul who, seemingly, exists without moral compass, compassion, fear or obligation to any established mode of conduct. In short, a truly lawless man whose only custom appears to allow captured prisoners the opportunity to fight their way onto his crew. At times, Whitepaul reminded me of other archetypal fictional characters such as Conrad’s Kurtz (Heart of Darkness) and McCarthy’s Judge (Blood Meridian). Pillaring Whitepaul is the equally dangerous and vile Catholic Albenix, also in command of his own ship, doing the “Church’s work” with terror, torture and murder. Albenix is so deranged, in fact, that Whitepaul appears a sympathetic character in comparison. Slave trade abounds and the world is a nasty and brutish place. Death comes suddenly. Against this backdrop, having survived a terrible storm after being swept overboard, Henry finds health, peace and beauty among “the People,” native islanders who live a rich and spiritually fulfilling life. He falls in love. He also learns of the randomness of life and how decisions born of good intent may sometimes have terrible consequences. Orem tackles many themes – colonialism, slavery, Catholicism and the dichotomy between its precepts and actions, and the needs of the individual versus those of the group - all worthy of occupying an entire novel. In this regard, perhaps, the novel may fall a bit short – I sometimes felt that there was not enough breathing room for these myriad themes. But this is a minor criticism. The prose is consistently fluid, elegant and often surprising. A pleasure to read not only for the tale, but also the uniqueness of the writing. Well worth the time.